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Over many years, the family members 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 shot in a transportation hub,” notes one of his living relatives. “We learned about the story in books but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, including a talented performer as the president and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.

The series promises to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to fall victim to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his approach and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to care for multiple kids in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was ordained as minister, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a holy crusade against forced servitude and rose to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the period. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Political Career and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would work as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a conflict agreement.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will affect you emotionally. He was an remarkable speaker and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech proposing Sherman caught their attention. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the surprise nominee. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling demanded control over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. 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 proposed a rival of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a public failure, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “boss rule”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who exemplified the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of occupational setbacks, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a alternative community.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the presidential race, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, requiring to be made the diplomatic representative — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his educational gathering. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, produced an handgun from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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