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Throughout history, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a drifter with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“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 superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law