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Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in publications but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now inspired a television production titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the economic era only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His tenure was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an event now largely forgotten while the assassinations of the Civil War president and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a religious leader, he was a agriculturalist. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income for an formal learning.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the rank of major general.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a party member for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. 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 voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is very unusual and maybe special for 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 major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the executive authority over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of career disappointments, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a free-love commune.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Medical Malpractice

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he walked through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an weapon from his clothing and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield shouted: “My God, what is this?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law