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For generations, the heirs of James Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a wartime covenant.

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

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman won them over. 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 extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“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 thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an weapon from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

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