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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy 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 farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a solution. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

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 Collector of the Port of New York. 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 nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform 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 negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity 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 at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law