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For generations, the family members of President Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now inspired a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, featuring an acclaimed actor as the president and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an event now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions 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 White House

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the period. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield rejected, 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 became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a important role. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned 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 alumni event. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law