🔗 Share this article

Throughout history, the family members of James Garfield spoke proudly about his extraordinary achievements but avoided talking about his untimely death. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” explains one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a presidential biography, which sparked curiosity in Garfield's truncated career. The book has now led to a Netflix drama titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the national leader 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 economic era only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His presidency was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the gunman's shot but by medical malpractice – an tragedy now largely forgotten while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and JFK continue to intrigue 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 farmer. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and his behavior and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions in the Midwest in 1831. His dad perished when he was just a toddler, leaving his mom, Eliza, to support a large family in challenging conditions. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to generate income 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 entered matrimony with a former classmate, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a righteous fight against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

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 serve as a political representative for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the fulfillment of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will move you deeply. He was an impressive communicator and this matter was deeply meaningful 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 continued leadership for military hero, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a advocate of his close associate John Sherman.

When the huge assembly was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address proposing Sherman caught their attention. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the shocking choice. To appease the Stalwart faction, the vice presidential pick, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the national vote Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be chosen as leader.

Short Presidency and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is extremely rare and maybe particular about 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 major battle of Garfield's short presidency was his disagreement with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling demanded control over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of customs official. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “whether the president is registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He nominated a political foe of Conkling to the post.

The dispute turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted Conkling in the Senate. Facing a public failure, Conkling and his associate quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was approved. It was a landmark victory for the executive authority over the political organization and for the cause of reform over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a psychologically troubled person who represented the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of occupational setbacks, psychological problems and childhood trauma. He had failed as a attorney, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was false belief. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau was unsuccessful in all endeavors.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a pathway to success: politics. Caught up in the excitement of the 1880 election, he created and presented an unimportant address, and became persuaded internally that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau calculated he had merited a important role. He travelled to Washington and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, demanding 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 Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and shot the president twice in the back.

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