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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a television production titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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