🔗 Share this article

For generations, the family members of President Garfield discussed openly about his remarkable life but rarely mentioned his violent end. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We read about the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just skimmed through it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who gunned him down.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the gunman's shot but by doctor errors – an incident now largely forgotten while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate 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 multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the White House

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an formal learning.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against slavery and advanced to the military position.

“During my investigation, I couldn't believe it. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was very progressive for the time. He was compassionate. He was a moral individual and would have been one of our great presidents had he lived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was persuaded by President Lincoln to depart military life when he was elected to the House of Representatives, where he would work as a party member for multiple terms. He was strong supporter of African American voting rights, viewing it as a issue of rights and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a third term for military hero, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was deadlocked between Grant and Blaine, party members began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman won them over. 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 extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the sole representative of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. 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 rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his colleague left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was confirmed. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a mentally unstable individual who embodied the dark side of the political appointment process. The assassin was a drifter with a record of professional failures, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a attorney, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling 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 eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the political contest, he created and presented an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. 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 banned from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he passed through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “Why is this occurring?” and collapsed on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law