🔗 Share this article

For generations, the family members of James Garfield spoke proudly about his remarkable life but avoided talking about his tragic assassination. We were aware what had happened, that he was shot in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Revived Interest in a Overlooked Leader

This shifted in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's unfinished life. This work has now resulted in a television production titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the wanderer who assassinated him.

The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His time in office was ended prematurely after only 200 days not only by the killer's weapon but by physician mistakes – an tragedy now frequently ignored while the deaths of Abraham Lincoln and President Kennedy continue to intrigue the public.

“One cannot help but admire what he did. He was a true polymath: he was a lawyer, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was so many things which also formed his character and his approach and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”

Starting from Nothing to the Presidency

Garfield was the most recent commander-in-chief coming from pioneer roots in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his mother, Eliza, to raise five children in hard times. An voracious learner, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an schooling.

He studied law, was ordained as minister, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the national conflict as a holy crusade against forced servitude and advanced 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 time. He was kind. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he survived.”

Public Life and Surprise Candidacy

Garfield was encouraged by the wartime leader to resign his military commission when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would serve as a political representative for nearly two decades. He was dedicated proponent of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a matter of justice and the realization of a military promise.

“The speech he gave on the legislative arena will tear your heart out. He was an incredibly powerful orator and this matter was very important to him.”

At the 1880 Republican National Convention in Chicago the party was deeply divided between the “faction members”, led by a powerful politician, who supported a continued leadership for former president, and the “rival group”, who supported political contender. Garfield attended as a advocate of his state colleague John Sherman.

When the massive gathering was gridlocked between Grant and Blaine, delegates began looking for a compromise. Garfield's emotional address nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, representatives, what do we want?” to which a audience member unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”

On the extended selection process, a stampede of delegates made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To appease the Stalwart faction, another politician, a faction member from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the presidential race Garfield overcame the opposing candidate to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be elected president.

Truncated Term and Political Battles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual 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 thrust into it.”

The defining conflict of Garfield's limited administration was his disagreement with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over political positions in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. 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 nominated a rival of Conkling to the post.

The confrontation turned into a open fight but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Facing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a landmark victory for the presidential control over the party machine and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Gunman and His Psychological Issues

But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who exemplified the dark side of the patronage system. The gunman was a wanderer with a record of professional failures, psychological problems and early life difficulties. He had been unsuccessful as a attorney, debt recovery agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was psychologically disturbed and his unique form of delusion was false belief. He always believed that divine selection for importance. He actually had superior economic background than Garfield but where Garfield progressed and improved, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”

But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a way to accomplishment: politics. Carried away in the drama of the 1880 election, he prepared and gave an unimportant address, and became certain in his thoughts that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and constantly harassed Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, requiring to be made the US consul in Paris — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a annoyance that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Assassination and Physician Mistakes

On 2 July 1881, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he passed through the train depot, Guiteau appeared suddenly, withdrew an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his coat pocket and fired multiple rounds in the back.

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