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For generations, the heirs of James Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a television production titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the national leader and another skilled actor as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an tragedy now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK 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 preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the final national leader raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “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 stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post 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 selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute 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 selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The assassin was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

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