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Throughout history, the descendants of President Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in books but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the economic era only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the military position.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the Congress, where he would serve as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. 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 multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“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 never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position 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 presidential authority”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The assassin was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, emotional issues and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that divine selection for greatness. 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 way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

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

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law