🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” reflects one of his family members. “We studied the story in books but, in one way or another, we just skimmed through it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now inspired a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, featuring an acclaimed actor as the national leader and his co-star as the drifter who gunned him down.

The series aims to shine a light on Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the economic era only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the assassinations of the Civil War president and JFK continue to captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also influenced his personality and his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the White House

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 insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to generate income for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was entered the clergy, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a moral battle against forced servitude and progressed to the officer status.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the time. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion of a wartime covenant.

“The address he delivered on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address supporting Sherman won them over. 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 36th ballot, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the general election Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Brief Administration and Government Conflicts

“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's brief term was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield rejected, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became 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 selection was confirmed. It was a significant win for the presidential control over the faction system and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Killer and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the spoils network. The assassin was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and early life difficulties. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, preacher and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield succeeded and advanced, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a route to achievement: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other officials, demanding to be made the diplomatic representative — a post for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Medical Malpractice

On 2 July 1881, just four months 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 ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and assassinated the leader in the back.

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