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Over many years, the heirs of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to fall victim to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, 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 multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech supporting Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield beat the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments 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 nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the dark side of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

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

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had earned a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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