Revealing the Heartbreaking Story Behind Netflix's Latest Historical Drama

Throughout history, the family members of President Garfield shared stories about his impressive career but avoided talking about his untimely death. We were aware what had happened, that he was assassinated in a transportation hub,” notes one of his family members. “We studied the story in historical accounts but, in one way or another, we just glanced over it.”

Renewed Attention in a Forgotten President

This transformed in 2011 with the issuing of a presidential biography, which generated attention in Garfield's cut-short presidency. The book has now led to a streaming series titled Death by Lightning, including Michael Shannon as the commander-in-chief and another skilled actor as the drifter who shot him.

The series aims to highlight Garfield, who emerged from difficult circumstances to the presidency during the Gilded Age only to succumb to its toxic political divisions. His presidency 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 captivate the public.

“It's impossible not to respect what he did. He was incredibly versatile: 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 his approach and everything that we know about him the descendants preserve with us.”

Rising from Poverty to the White House

Garfield was the last president raised in rustic conditions 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 dedicated student, Garfield labored on waterways to earn money for an education.

He pursued jurisprudence, was became a preacher, became president of Hiram College in Ohio and was a political representative. In 1858 he married a previous schoolmate, Lucretia Rudolph, with whom he would have multiple offspring. An ardent Unionist, Garfield viewed the internal struggle as a moral battle against human bondage and advanced to the military position.

“As I studied his life, I was astonished. He was exceptionally intelligent. He was extremely courageous. He was ahead of his time for the period. He was caring. He was a decent human being and would have been a remarkable commander-in-chief had he remained alive.”

Public Life and Shocking Selection

Garfield was persuaded by the wartime leader to depart military life when he was elected to the legislative branch, where he would function as a Republican for multiple terms. He was ardent advocate of racial equality in elections, viewing it as a issue of rights and the completion of a conflict agreement.

“His oration on the floor of Congress will affect you emotionally. He was an impressive communicator and this issue was extremely significant to him.”

At the party gathering in Chicago the political organization was fundamentally fractured between the “faction members”, led by Senator Roscoe Conkling, who supported a continued leadership for military hero, and the “rival group”, who supported James G Blaine. Garfield attended as a backer of his friend and fellow Ohioan John Sherman.

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

On the 36th ballot, a wave of backers made Garfield the surprise nominee. To appease the Stalwart faction, Chester Arthur, a Conkling loyalist from New York, was chosen as his running mate. In the national vote Garfield defeated the rival politician to become the only sitting member of the House ever to be selected for the highest office.

Truncated Term and Power Struggles

“Garfield's potential greatness and what is very unusual and maybe unique to the American presidency is he hadn't campaigned aggressively. It's not that he had never thought about it but he was pushed toward it.”

The central struggle of Garfield's short presidency was his clash with Conkling over the “political favors”. Conkling insisted on authority over federal patronage in New York, particularly the influential position of port authority. Garfield declined, stating the issue was “if the commander-in-chief should be registering clerk of the senate or the presidential authority”. He proposed a opponent of Conkling to the post.

The conflict became a public battle but Garfield outmaneuvered Conkling in the Senate. Experiencing a embarrassing loss, Conkling and his junior senator left their positions in protest. The next day, Garfield's nominee was ratified. It was a historic triumph for the power of the presidency over the faction system and for the change movement over “political control”.

The Assassin and His Mental Illness

But even as Garfield fought powerful figures of his party, he was being pursued by a disturbed and delusional man who embodied the negative aspect of the spoils network. The gunman was a wanderer with a history of career disappointments, mental instability and physical and psychological abuse. He had failed as a legal professional, financial agent, religious figure and member of a unconventional group.

“He was mentally ill and his unique form of delusion was fantasy. He always believed that God had chosen him for significance. He actually had financially a better start than Garfield but where Garfield achieved and rose, Guiteau failed at everything.”

But Guiteau believed he had finally found a pathway to success: politics. Swept up in the drama of the political contest, he wrote and delivered an minor oration, and became persuaded internally that he was solely accountable for Garfield's victory.

Under this logic, Guiteau determined he had deserved a prestigious position. He journeyed to DC and continuously bothered Garfield, Blaine and other authorities, demanding to be made the foreign service officer — a position for which he had inadequate skills. He became such a problem that he was eventually excluded from the White House.

The Shooting and Doctor Errors

On that fateful day, just four months into his presidency, Garfield was traveling from DC for his college reunion. As he moved through the Baltimore & Potomac Railroad station, Guiteau emerged from hiding, withdrew an weapon from his clothing and fired multiple rounds in the back.

Garfield cried out: “What's happening?” and fell on the waiting area. When a {police officer|law