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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” reflects one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and how he was and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was innovative for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would work as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about 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 central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had earned a important role. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield shouted: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law