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Over many years, the family members of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but seldom discussed his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, 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 shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual 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 pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned 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 candidate was approved. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. The gunman was a drifter with a history of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his particular brand of madness 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 route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

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

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an weapon from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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