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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the historical period only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member 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 elected president.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the political contest, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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