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Over many years, the heirs of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who shot him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an event now mostly overlooked while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a solution. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a background of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the political contest, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

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

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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