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For generations, the family members of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate 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 descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

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

He studied law, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments 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 selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a important role. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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