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For generations, the heirs of President Garfield spoke proudly about his impressive career but rarely mentioned his untimely death. “We knew what had happened, that he was gunned down in a railway depot,” reflects one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in books but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Forgotten President

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's truncated career. The publication has now led to a television production titled Death by Lightning, featuring a talented performer as the president and another skilled actor as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series promises 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 cut short after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the killings of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a farmer. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against human bondage and rose to the military position.

“During my investigation, I was astonished. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. 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 survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was convinced by Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was dedicated proponent of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this topic was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the faction was deeply divided between the “political group”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “opposing faction”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, representatives began searching for a compromise. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a rush of supporters made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, 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.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“His possible achievements 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 defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the influential position of customs official. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a public battle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the patronage system. The assassin was a drifter with a background of career disappointments, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, preacher and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was delusion. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau calculated he had deserved a high-level government job. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, insisting to be made the foreign service officer — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, withdrew an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law