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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president discussed openly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F 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 religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also formed his character and his behavior and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against human bondage and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection 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 finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an weapon from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law