For generations, the heirs of President Garfield discussed openly about his extraordinary achievements but rarely mentioned his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was gunned down in a train station,” explains one of his modern descendants. “We read about the story in publications but, somehow, we just passed over it quickly.”
This transformed in 2011 with the release of a presidential biography, which revived interest in Garfield's truncated career. This work has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, starring Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and his co-star as the unstable individual who shot him.
The series seeks to illuminate Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the White House during the economic era only to fall victim to its deep political rifts. His tenure was cut short after only several months not only by the killer's weapon but by medical malpractice – an incident now frequently ignored while the deaths of the Civil War president and John F Kennedy continue to fascinate the public.
“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: he was a legal professional, he was a preacher, he was a agriculturalist. He was multiple professions which also shaped who he was and his behavior and the complete story about him the relatives maintain with us.”
Garfield was the final national leader born in a log cabin in Cuyahoga County in 1831. His parent passed away when he was 18 months old, leaving his parent, Eliza, to raise five children in difficult circumstances. An insatiable reader, Garfield labored on waterways to make funds for an education.
He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became leader of an institution in Ohio and was a government official. In 1858 he entered matrimony with a educational contemporary, his partner, with whom he would have a large family. An dedicated federalist, Garfield viewed the civil war as a righteous fight against human bondage and advanced to the military position.
“As I studied his life, I found it incredible. He was absolutely brilliant. He was fearless. He was ahead of his time for the era. He was kind. He was a moral individual and would have been an outstanding leader had he lived.”
Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to leave army service when he was selected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a party member for nearly two decades. He was ardent advocate of African American voting rights, viewing it as a matter of justice and the completion 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 extremely significant to him.”
At the political assembly in Chicago the party was sharply split between the “Stalwarts”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for Ulysses S Grant, and the “opposing faction”, who supported another candidate. Garfield attended as a backer of his state colleague John Sherman.
When the massive gathering was stalled between Grant and Blaine, delegates began seeking a middle ground. Garfield's impassioned speech nominating Sherman won them over. During the speech, he reportedly shouted, “And now, gentlemen of the convention, what do we want?” to which a attendee unexpectedly replied, “We want Garfield!”
On the extended selection process, a rush of supporters made Garfield the unexpected candidate. To satisfy the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a political ally from New York, was chosen as his vice president. In the general election Garfield beat the Democratic nominee to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.
“His possible achievements and what is extremely rare and maybe unique to the American presidency is he didn't want the job. It's not that he had completely dismissed it but he was pushed toward it.”
The central struggle of Garfield's brief term was his confrontation with Conkling over the “spoils system”. Conkling required power over government appointments in New York, particularly the prestigious role of port authority. Garfield refused, stating the issue was “concerning if the national leader becomes registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He nominated a opponent of Conkling to the post.
The conflict became a visible struggle but Garfield defeated Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his colleague quit Congress in protest. The next day, Garfield's candidate was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the presidential control over the faction system and for the change movement over “machine politics”.
But even as Garfield battled the titans of his party, he was being followed by a psychologically troubled person who embodied the problematic element of the political appointment process. The gunman was a unstable individual with a history of professional failures, emotional issues and physical and psychological abuse. He had been unsuccessful as a legal professional, bill collector, religious figure and member of a free-love commune.
“He was mentally ill and his particular brand of madness was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for importance. He actually had more privileged beginning than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau could not accomplish anything.”
But Guiteau believed he had at last discovered a route to achievement: politics. Caught up in the events of the 1880 election, he wrote and delivered an insignificant speech, and became convinced in his own mind that he was personally instrumental for Garfield's victory.
Under this logic, Guiteau reckoned he had merited a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and relentlessly pestered Garfield, Blaine and other leaders, requiring to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had zero qualifications. He became such a nuisance that he was eventually prohibited from the White House.
On the tragic date, just a short time into his presidency, Garfield was leaving Washington for his college reunion. As he walked through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, pulled an ivory-handled British Bull Dog revolver from his jacket and fired multiple rounds in the back.
Garfield cried out: “Why is this occurring?” and dropped on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law
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