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Over many years, the descendants of James Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a television production titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an education.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, 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 completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the party machine and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that divine selection 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 at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a important role. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law