There is a new historical drama coming this week about President James A. Garfield and his assassin, Charles J. Guiteau, called Death by Lightning. You’ll be able to watch it with your Netflix subscription starting tomorrow (November 6). If the prospect of watching a 4-part series about the short presidency and violent death of a man that not many people know much about sounds uninteresting to you, I ask you please to reconsider. President Garfield is one of the great “what ifs” in American history, and I’m hoping the Netflix series brings more attention to him and what his legacy could have been.
James A. Garfield Never Wanted To Be President
Garfield, who is being played by Michael Shannon in Death by Lightning, came to power in the 1880 presidential election after winning the Republican spot on the ticket at their convention earlier in the year. He did not seek to run, but after the convention failed to come to a consensus on the three leading candidates (former president Ulysses S. Grant, Maine senator James G. Blaine, and Secretary of the Treasury John Sherman) Garfield was chosen by the delegates as a compromise candidate.
In fact, he was only at the convention to make the nominating speech in favor of his fellow Ohioan, John Sherman. Garfield was the senator-elect from Ohio at the time and had long served in the House of Representatives from his home state. His speech focused on what kind of man makes a good president, and by many accounts, it was then that delegates began to see him as a viable candidate. Still, it would take dozens of ballots before Garfield would receive his vote. That came on the 33rd ballot of the convention, as no candidate had received a majority.
Garfield objected to the votes, but his objections were ignored. After the 35th ballot, both Blaine and Sherman recognized Garfield as the most obvious choice to find consensus, and they threw their support behind their good friend. He was finally selected as the nominee on the 38th ballot. Still, he was reluctant to run, and his campaign for president, in great contrast to modern times, was almost entirely held at his home in Ohio, which he rarely left.
Dubbed the “front porch campaign,” instead of Garfield traversing the country asking for votes, people came to his house, and he gave speeches and met with supporters without leaving his hometown of Mentor, Ohio. The politician was elected in an exceedingly close election over his Democratic rival, Winfield Scott Hancock. The margin in the popular vote was about 2000 votes, out of 9 million cast.
Garfield Never Had A Chance To Prove Himself
Garfield was, by all accounts, an extremely intelligent man and had a reputation for being honest and forthright. He despised the so-called “spoils system” that rewarded political cronies with jobs in the government, which was the standard operating procedure at the time. Rather than political patronage, he sought to fill bureaucratic positions with qualified people. This was at the heart of his campaign, and ultimately what led directly to his assassination by Guiteau. His killer was a pretty disturbed person with mental health issues who believed he was directly responsible for the election of Garfield and thus was “owed” a job in the administration.
Guiteau, who is portrayed by Deadpool & Wolverine cast member Matthew Macfadyen, did campaign for Garfield, but he didn’t work for the campaign, and the president didn’t know him. Still, for months after Garfield’s inauguration in March 1881, Guiteau hung around Washington, DC, begging members of Garfield’s administration for a diplomatic posting in Paris. He was continually rejected.
After one final rebuke from James Blaine (Bradley Whitford in the series), Guiteau snapped and became convinced that Garfield’s intent to tear down the spoils system would be the downfall of the Republican Party. He began keeping tabs on his schedule and movements. Remember, these were in the days before the establishment of the Secret Service, and presidents usually had very little, or no, security.
Garfield's Death Left So Many Questions About What Could Have Been
On July 2, 1881, not even four months after being sworn in, Garfield was met at a train station in D.C., by Guiteau, who shot the president twice, once in the shoulder and once in the back. Garfield collapsed and was carried back to the White House. He lived for another two and a half months before succumbing to his injuries and dying on September 19.
He'd only been president for six months, and for more than a third of that, he was on what would become his deathbed. A term that started with so much promise had barely begun before his life was snuffed out. Chester A. Arthur (Nick Offerman in Death by Lightning) would carry on some of Garfield’s ideals, most notably supporting the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, which was the beginning of the end of the spoils system.
We’ll never know just how much Garfield could have done, given his skills as a politician, his intelligence, and his beliefs, including his support of civil rights for African-Americans. It truly is one of the great “what ifs” of all time.
Death By Lightning Is The First Time The Story Will Be Told In A Series
There have been four presidents assassinated in United States history, and Garfield's is the least well-known, despite being hugely consequential in its time. I’m very excited to see this era come to life and to see this story finally being told in what is sure to be an excellent production. There have been many portrayals of presidents on screen, but never one of this president at this time in his life.
The cast is stacked; in addition to the aforementioned Shannon, Whitford, Offerman, and Macfadyen, it includes Betty Gilpin as Garfield’s wife, Lucretia, Shea Whigham, Downton Abbey star Tuppence Middleton, Željko Ivanek, and more. With such an interesting story to tell, I think Death by Lightning will be among the most interesting shows on the 2025 TV schedule, and I personally can’t wait to binge-watch the Netflix show this week.
