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Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his violent end. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This changed in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its deep political rifts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a minister, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and how he was and the complete story about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. 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 an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“His possible achievements and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his associate left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the dark side of the political appointment process. The gunman was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, 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 reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had earned a important role. He went to the capital 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 problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law