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Over many years, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” explains one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the national leader and his co-star as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the White House during the historical period only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he lived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will move you deeply. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

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

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the events 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 logic, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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