🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the heirs of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now inspired a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the wanderer who shot him.

The series seeks to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only several months not only by the gunman's shot but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against forced servitude and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the legislative branch, 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 issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

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

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness 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 entirely ignored the possibility but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a rival 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 junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, financial 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 importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the events of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his coat pocket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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