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Throughout history, the family members of James Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring a talented performer as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His presidency was truncated after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an schooling.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. 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 third term 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 huge assembly was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is very unusual and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. 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 rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “boss rule”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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