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For generations, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but seldom discussed his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” reflects one of his family members. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln 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 legal professional, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and his behavior and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and advanced to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post 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 confrontation turned into a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was confirmed. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law