🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the heirs of James Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but seldom discussed his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a transportation hub,” explains one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

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

The series promises to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the historical period only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only half a year not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the killings of President Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a attorney, he was a preacher, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also shaped who he was and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against forced servitude and progressed to the military position.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was caring. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he remained alive.”

Political Career and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was strong supporter of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a third term for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“His possible achievements 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 never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Killer and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who represented the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a unstable individual with a background of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, financial agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: 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 solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau calculated he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and shot the president twice in the back.

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