Revealing the Heartbreaking Story Within Netflix's Death by Lightning

For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We understood what had happened, that he was assassinated in a railway depot,” reflects one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just passed over it quickly.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This shifted in 2011 with the publication of a historical book, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The publication has now resulted in a Netflix drama titled the presidential series, including an acclaimed actor as the national leader and Matthew Macfadyen as the wanderer who shot him.

The series aims to illuminate Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the White House during the historical period only to succumb to its bitter partisan conflicts. His time in office was truncated after only 200 days not only by the assassin's bullet but by doctor errors – an incident now largely forgotten while the assassinations of President Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a legal professional, he was a minister, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the last president born in a log cabin in the Midwest in 1831. His father died when he was very young, leaving his mother, Eliza, to support a large family in hard times. An insatiable reader, Garfield found employment on vessels to generate income for an schooling.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he wed a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the officer status.

“As I studied his life, I couldn't believe it. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was very progressive for the period. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been one of our great presidents had he survived.”

Government Service and Shocking Selection

Garfield was encouraged by President Lincoln to leave army service when he was chosen to the legislative branch, where he would work as a political representative for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, 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 incredibly powerful orator and this issue was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the political organization was sharply split between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech 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 rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his second in command. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the rival politician to become the unique incumbent of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Brief Administration and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is remarkably uncommon and maybe particular about the American presidency is he wasn't seeking the position. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of customs official. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the nation's leader”. He selected a rival of Conkling to the post.

The dispute became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Confronting a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his associate quit Congress 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 “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being followed by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the dark side of the spoils network. The assassin was a unstable individual with a history of career disappointments, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, financial agent, minister and member of a free-love commune.

“He was mentally ill and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that religious calling for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had eventually located a way to accomplishment: politics. Swept up in the drama of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was single-handedly responsible for Garfield's victory.

Under this reasoning, Guiteau determined he had earned a prestigious position. He travelled to Washington and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a role for which he had no experience. He became such a problem that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.

The Attack and Physician Mistakes

On that fateful day, just several weeks into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his alumni event. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, pulled an handgun from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield exclaimed: “What's happening?” and fell on the depot ground. When a {police officer|law