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For generations, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the national leader and his co-star as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also formed his character and his behavior and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law