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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring an acclaimed actor as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an weapon from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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