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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now inspired a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including an acclaimed actor as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. 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 coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an formal learning.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he married a former classmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I couldn't believe it. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a party member for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a compromise. Garfield's powerful oration nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “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 wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual 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 forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling demanded control over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the events of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law