Death by Lightning: How long was James Garfield president? Details explored

Death by Lightning features the story of the United States President, James A. Garfield. The series is based on Candice Millard’s book. The name of the book is Destiny of the Republic. It dives deep into the complexities that James A. Garfield went through to become president. Along with it, there is also his eventual assassination by Charles J. Guiteau. The attention to detail in the series creates an intriguing atmosphere for the viewers.

Within just four episodes, Death by Lightning perfectly depicts the whole storyline. The series is getting immense appreciation from the viewers for the realistic portrayal. James Garfield took the chair of the president of the United States on March 4, 1881. Shortly after, he was shot by Charles J. Guiteau on July 2, 1881. After being shot, he fought for eighty more days. His injuries were too serious. Hence, he could not recover. He died on September 19, 1881. James A. Garfield held his position as president for only a period of 120 days.

The story of James Garfield in Death by Lightning

While discussing James Garfield, Mike Makowsky, who helms Death by Lightning, indicates that “in a lot of ways,” especially “in terms of his political views”, James Garfield was “ahead of the times”. This is because, at the time when he became the president of the United States, the situation was quite critical.

The impact of the Civil War was still very much prevalent during the time he became the president. As a result, there was a “lot of tension and disarray” which he needed to handle. Michael Shanon indicates that becoming president during such a difficult time was a “monumental challenge”.

Matthew Macfadyen helms the role of Charles J. Guiteau in the series. While discussing his role in Death by Lightning, he indicates that Charles J. Guiteau arrives during the tumultuous situation in Garfield’s life and becomes completely “obsessed” with him. Guiteau begins to put “all his energy” into James Garfield. He begins thinking that he is “responsible” for James Garfield’s success. He then “feels very let down”, which triggers him to take the action of shooting James Garfield.

Creator Mike Makowsky of Death by Lightning thinks that the storyline, which comes to life through the series, is “one of the great what-ifs in American history”. The series also puts a distinct focus on Charles Guiteau. The series perfectly captures the fact that James Garfield was not initially supposed to become the president.

However, the main aspect that propelled him towards this direction is the speech he gave while Treasury Secretary John Sherman was nominated. The manner in which the series captures this speech is truly worth appreciating. Michael Shannon, who takes on the role of President James Garfield in the interview with Tudum, reveals his experience while filming this scene.

Shannon admits that, as the speech was “so overwhelming”, he wanted another chance to “revisit that speech”. He adds that it is truly “hard to believe” that the speech came “from one human being”. The “amount of perception, insight, wisdom” that James Garfield’s speech emanates made actor Michael Shannon feel “a little unworthy” while doing it in the series.

Besides Michael Shannon and Matthew Macfadyen, the other cast members of Death by Lightning are Betty Gilpin, Bradley Whitford, Shea Whigham, Nick Offerman, Paula Malcomson, etc. Each of these actors perfectly captures the complex atmosphere of the storyline and brings life to the political backdrop in a nuanced manner.

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