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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a attorney, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mother, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in challenging conditions. An dedicated student, Garfield worked on canal boats to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the Congress, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began looking for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration supporting 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 extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, 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 defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a background of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a lawyer, financial agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an weapon from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law