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Throughout history, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but seldom discussed his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his family members. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. This work has now resulted in a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, featuring a talented performer as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who gunned him down.

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the historical period only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate 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 land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief 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 worked on canal boats to make funds for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a party member for 17 years. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the sole representative of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe particular about 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 central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a unstable individual with a record of professional failures, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the presidential race, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a important role. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he walked through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law