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Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, featuring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways 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 entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership 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 deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

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

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Killer and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, financial agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, 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 determined he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an weapon from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the station floor. When a {police officer|law