Revealing the Heartbreaking Reality Behind Netflix's Death by Lightning

For generations, the heirs of the 20th US president discussed openly about his impressive career but avoided talking about his violent end. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” notes one of his living relatives. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, for various reasons, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Historical Figure

This transformed in 2011 with the publication of Destiny of the Republic, which generated attention in Garfield's unfinished life. The publication has now inspired a television production titled the presidential series, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the drifter who assassinated him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who came from humble beginnings to the highest office during the Gilded Age only to become a casualty to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was ended prematurely after only half a year not only by the killer's weapon but by doctor errors – an event now mostly overlooked while the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was like a multi-threat: he was a lawyer, he was a religious leader, he was a land worker. He was all of these things which also influenced his personality and how he was and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

From Humble Beginnings to the Highest Office

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was very young, leaving his mom, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield worked on canal boats to make funds for an formal learning.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became head of a school in Ohio and was a state senator. In 1858 he married a educational contemporary, his future wife, with whom he would have a large family. An passionate nationalist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a holy crusade against slavery and rose to the rank of major general.

“When I started researching him, I found it incredible. He was remarkably smart. He was incredibly brave. He was innovative for the era. He was compassionate. He was a decent human being and would have been an outstanding leader had he survived.”

Government Service and Unexpected Nomination

Garfield was convinced by President Lincoln to resign his military commission when he was elected to the Congress, where he would serve as a Republican for 17 years. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a question of fairness and the completion of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will affect you emotionally. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this topic was very important to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by an influential figure, who supported a additional presidency for Ulysses S Grant, and the “Half-Breeds”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his close associate John Sherman.

When the 15,000-person convention was stalled between Grant and Blaine, party members began searching for a middle ground. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman impressed them. During the speech, he reportedly exclaimed, “And now, delegates, what do we want?” to which a voice from the crowd unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the multiple voting round, a wave of backers made Garfield the shocking choice. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Short Presidency and Government Conflicts

“What would have made Garfield great and what is extremely rare and maybe special for the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was forced into the role.”

The major battle of Garfield's limited administration was his clash with Conkling over the “patronage network”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the powerful and lucrative post of Collector of the Port of New York. 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 political foe of Conkling to the post.

The conflict turned into a open fight but Garfield outsmarted 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 ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the political organization and for the improvement efforts over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being stalked by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the negative aspect of the political appointment process. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and early life difficulties. He had failed as a lawyer, bill collector, minister and member of a unconventional group.

“He was emotionally unstable and his specific type of insanity was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Carried away in the excitement of the political contest, he prepared and gave an minor oration, and became certain in his thoughts that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this thinking, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a high-level government job. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, insisting to be made the US consul in Paris — a post for which he had no experience. He became such a nuisance 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 traveling from DC for his alumni event. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau stepped from the shadows, produced an weapon from his clothing and shot the president twice in the back.

Garfield shouted: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law