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Over many years, the descendants of President Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, 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 relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, 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 unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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