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Over many years, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an event now frequently ignored while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, 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 dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. 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, delegates began seeking a compromise. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for 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 central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power 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 executive of the United States”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. 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 Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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