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Throughout history, the heirs of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of the Civil War president and President Kennedy 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 farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“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 political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman caught their attention. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher 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 importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had deserved a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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