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Over many years, the family members of the 20th US president spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was assassinated in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We studied the story in books but, somehow, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of Destiny of the Republic, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now led to a television production titled Death by Lightning, starring a talented performer as the national leader and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series seeks to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the economic era only to succumb to its deep political rifts. His time in office was truncated after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the family carries down with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An dedicated student, Garfield found employment on vessels to make funds for an schooling.

He learned legal principles, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, his partner, with whom he would have seven children. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against slavery and progressed to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was innovative for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he remained alive.”

Government Service and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by Lincoln to depart military life when he was selected to the Congress, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was strong supporter of black suffrage, viewing it as a question of fairness and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the floor of Congress will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was extremely significant to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a additional presidency for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a supporter of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering 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, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had entirely ignored the possibility but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his confrontation with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the executive of the United States”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Facing a humiliating public defeat, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the faction system and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who represented the negative aspect of the patronage system. The gunman was a unstable individual with a record of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a lawyer, financial agent, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.

“He was emotionally unstable and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the events of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became persuaded internally 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 relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually banned from the White House.

The Shooting and Medical Malpractice

On the tragic date, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his college reunion. As he moved through the train depot, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “My God, what is this?” and fell on the station floor. When a {police officer|law