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For generations, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe 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 junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a record of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law