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For generations, the family members of the 20th US president shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We learned about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the economic era only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an event now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President 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 minister, he was a land worker. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his behavior and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader coming from pioneer roots 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 dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the rank of major general.

“During my investigation, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was kind. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “Stalwarts”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield beat the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the executive authority over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a background of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling 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 way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, 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 logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a important role. He travelled to Washington and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau appeared suddenly, produced an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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