🔗 Share this article

For generations, the descendants of the 20th US president shared stories about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. “We knew what had happened, that he was shot in a railway depot,” notes one of his family members. “We learned about the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Fresh Curiosity in a Overlooked Leader

This transformed in 2011 with the release of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The book has now resulted in a television production titled Death by Lightning, featuring Michael Shannon as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the unstable individual who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an event now mostly overlooked while the killings of President Lincoln and John F Kennedy continue to captivate the public.

“You can't help but be proud what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his behavior and everything that we know about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president coming from pioneer roots in the Midwest in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in challenging conditions. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He studied law, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he wed a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a righteous fight against slavery and advanced to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was fearless. He was very progressive for the era. He was compassionate. He was a good person and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Political Career and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was selected to the Congress, where he would function as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the realization of a wartime covenant.

“The speech he gave on the House chamber will tear your heart out. He was an remarkable speaker and this issue was very important to him.”

At the political assembly in Chicago the faction was sharply split between the “political group”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a advocate of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly declared, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To placate the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield defeated the Democratic nominee to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling insisted on authority over political positions in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a public failure, Conkling and his associate resigned their seats in protest. The next day, Garfield's selection was approved. It was a significant win for the power of the presidency over the party machine and for the cause of reform over “machine politics”.

The Gunman and His Disturbed Mind

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. Charles Guiteau was a unstable individual with a background of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for significance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He went to the capital and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Doctor Errors

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was departing the capital for his alumni event. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an handgun from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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