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Throughout history, the descendants of the 20th US president discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the president and Matthew Macfadyen as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the assassinations of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a farmer. He was multiple professions which also formed his character and his approach and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in Ohio in 1831. His father died when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and progressed to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a military promise.

“The address he delivered on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a solution. Garfield's powerful oration supporting Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the general election Garfield overcame the Democratic nominee to become the sole representative of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. 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 “spoils system”. Conkling required power over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “boss rule”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield confronted influential people of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who represented the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had not succeeded as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He went to the capital and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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