🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the descendants of the 20th US president discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” notes one of his modern descendants. “We learned about the story in books but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This changed in 2011 with the issuing of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now resulted in a television production titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the president and his co-star as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who rose from poverty to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now mostly overlooked while the deaths of President Lincoln and JFK continue to fascinate 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 agriculturalist. He was so many things which also shaped who he was and how he was and all the information about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Ohio in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a moral battle against human bondage and progressed to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. 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 Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this matter was deeply meaningful to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “political group”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a supporter of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, representatives began looking for a middle ground. Garfield's powerful oration proposing Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “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 stampede of delegates 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 only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. 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 disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The dispute escalated into a visible struggle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a landmark victory for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the improvement efforts over “machine politics”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

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 political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a wanderer with a record of occupational setbacks, mental instability and childhood trauma. He had not succeeded as a attorney, bill collector, religious figure and member of a alternative community.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for greatness. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Caught up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had deserved a important role. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Attack and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his educational gathering. As he moved through the transportation center, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield shouted: “What's happening?” and collapsed on the station floor. When a {police officer|law