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Throughout history, the descendants of James Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We learned about the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His presidency was cut short after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and advanced to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a drifter with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a attorney, financial agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the events of the 1880 election, 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 reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had earned a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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