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For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including an acclaimed actor as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the highest office during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect 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 influenced his personality and how he was and all the information about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to earn money for an formal learning.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against human bondage and progressed to the officer status.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the era. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a political representative for 17 years. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was fundamentally fractured between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the national vote Garfield beat the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Power Struggles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his confrontation 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 refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was confirmed. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of professional failures, psychological problems and physical and psychological abuse. He had not succeeded as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his specific type of insanity was delusion. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he created and presented an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had merited a important role. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem 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 moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an weapon from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law