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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the economic era only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also formed his character and how he was and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a Republican for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who represented the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law