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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate 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 multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would work as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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