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Over many years, the descendants of the 20th US president shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His time in office was cut short after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the problematic element of the patronage system. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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