HISTORY This Week
Episode Summary: The Forgotten Life & Tragic Death of President James Garfield | A Conversation with ‘Death by Lightning’ Creator Mike Makowsky
Release Date: November 3, 2025
Host: Sally Helm (History This Week/History Channel)
Guest: Mike Makowski (Executive Producer & Showrunner, Death by Lightning)
Overview
This episode explores the remarkable yet often-overlooked life and presidency of James Garfield, America’s 20th President, whose assassination after only four months in office set the nation on an unforeseen path. Through a deep conversation with Mike Makowski, executive producer of the upcoming Netflix series Death by Lightning, host Sally Helm dives into Garfield’s unexpected rise, his reformist ambitions, the dark complexities of his assassin Charles Guiteau, and why Garfield’s legacy is worth revisiting today.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Who Was James Garfield? [07:11–09:30]
- Garfield’s humble beginnings in rural Ohio, growing up in poverty and working as a canal boy on a riverboat
- “He was brilliant… he would invent math theorems in his spare time. He was a polyglot.”
- Fought as a Union soldier, distinguishing himself in key Civil War battles (Shiloh, Middle Creek)
- Rose through the ranks: from custodial work in college to major general, to respected congressman from Ohio
- Personality: Noble, kind-hearted, “lawful good.”
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 08:34): “This was like a true lawful good. Like he was a very, very noble, kind-hearted, empathetic man. ... Kind of guy you'd want to grab a beer with.”
2. Garfield's Reformist Politics [09:30–11:02]
- Extremely progressive for his era, particularly on civil rights and government reform
- Sought to end the spoils system (“machine politics” rife with corruption)—merit-based appointments instead of patronage
- Context: Post-Civil War America, a nation still defining itself and wrestling with its shadow
- Predecessors (Grant, Hayes) struggled with corruption and division; Garfield seen as a new, honest leader
3. The Shocking Path to the Presidency [12:07–17:36]
- Garfield attended the 1880 Republican Convention with no intention to run
- Spectacular speech as a delegate for a “spoiler” candidate triggered a groundswell among deadlocked delegates
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 13:14): “He delivers a really passionate oratory... presents a really potent vision for the future of our country. While acknowledging the trauma of our past, he speaks very eloquently about the need for civil rights. ... One guy, allegedly up in the rafter, shouts, ‘We want Garfield.’”
- After dozens of inconclusive ballots, delegates shifted en masse to Garfield, making him an accidental nominee
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 15:05): “They all just start transferring their votes over to Garfield... and though he insists he will not accept the nomination, he ends up winning a majority of the votes.”
- His ambivalence (“reluctant president”): Did he truly not want the office?
- Makowski notes there’s “a part of him that relished the opportunity” despite protestations.
4. Garfield’s Assassin: Charles Guiteau [18:26–22:05]
- Guiteau: itinerant, persistently delusional, failed at multiple professions (including law, speaking tours, and living in the Oneida “free love” commune)
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 18:46): “He was born with these sort of delusions of grandeur... had a kind of haughty air about him.”
- Developed a fixation on Garfield after his rise; repeatedly tried to insert himself into campaign and White House circles
- Open-access White House allowed Guiteau to meet Garfield (“open office hours” for constituents, no security)
- Garfield rebuffed Guiteau’s requests for diplomatic postings, heightening Guiteau’s instability
5. Machine Politics and Garfield’s Administration [23:26–25:24]
- Garfield’s efforts to combat entrenched patronage systems put him at odds with stalwarts like Roscoe Conkling and even his own Vice President, Chester A. Arthur (initially a machine politician)
- Arthur: Initially a “glorified political appointee,” transformed after Garfield's example into a reformer himself
6. Assassination and Medical Tragedy [25:31–30:26]
- Spoiler alert: Garfield shot by Guiteau at a DC train station—an act driven by Guiteau's belief he was “saving the country”
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 27:03): “Guiteau genuinely believed that by killing Garfield, he would save the country, because he had been rebuffed so many times...”
- Garfield’s wound was not immediately fatal—the bullet missed vital organs
- Outdated medical practices led to his death: chief physician Dr. Doctor Willard Bliss disregarded hygienic care
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 29:25): “He did not believe in sanitizing his equipment... would often root his dirty fingers directly into Garfield’s open wound.”
- Guiteau: “I may have shot him, but I did not kill him. His doctors killed him.” (as quoted by Makowski)
7. Garfield’s Potential and “What Might Have Been” [30:26–31:36]
- Garfield could have been a transformational president had he lived
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 30:48): “He was by all accounts just like a really decent human being... a human being who doesn't deserve to see his entire legacy just eradicated by an errant bullet by a Mad Men.”
8. Echoes for Today: Political Violence & Leadership [31:36–33:48]
- Makowski reflects on the “meaninglessness” of political assassination, both then and in the context of today’s societal tensions (noting the recent assassination of a public figure, Charlie Kirk)
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 31:58): “Certainly a lot of the conversation around political violence ends [at] the just utter meaninglessness of it. ... Unfortunately as relevant a topic in 2025 as it was in 1881.”
- Garfield as a different kind of leader: Reluctant, genuine, ideal-driven—contrasted with today’s self-aggrandizing politicians
- Quote (Mike Makowski, 32:41): “There was something very refreshing about learning about Garfield, a man who, again, at least on the surface, held that ambition at arm's length and didn't actively court that leadership.”
Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments
-
On Garfield’s character:
“This was like a true lawful good. ... Kind of guy you'd want to grab a beer with.”
—Mike Makowski, 08:34 -
On the shocking nomination:
“After the first vote, the delegates couldn't reach a consensus ... and all of a sudden, the dam bursts, but it bursts for a guy who was never on the ballot.”
—Mike Makowski, 14:44 -
On Guiteau’s delusions:
“He was born with these sort of delusions of grandeur and believed that he was destined for greatness...”
—Mike Makowski, 18:46 -
On the tragic medical outcome:
“He did not believe in sanitizing his equipment. ... He found it to be a pseudoscience and basically just went with his tried and true methods of bare hand surgery.”
—Mike Makowski, 29:25 -
On Garfield’s erased legacy:
“A human being who doesn't deserve to see his entire legacy just eradicated by an errant bullet by a mad man.”
—Mike Makowski, 31:26 -
On lessons for the present:
“There was something very refreshing about learning about Garfield, a man who, again, at least on the surface, held that ambition at arm's length and didn't actively court that leadership.”
—Mike Makowski, 32:41
Timestamps for Key Segments
| Segment Description | Timestamp | |:------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|:-------------| | Garfield's election night & reluctant attitude toward the presidency | 01:06–03:36 | | Makowski explains his inspiration and discovery of Garfield's story | 03:36–06:21 | | Garfield’s early life and character: “lawful good” | 07:11–09:15 | | Reform politics & the spoils system | 09:30–11:02 | | 1880 Republican Convention and accidental nomination | 12:07–15:47 | | Analysis: Was Garfield truly reluctant to be president? | 16:17–17:36 | | Charles Guiteau’s biography & obsession with Garfield | 18:26–22:05 | | Patronage, machine politics, and tensions with Vice President Arthur | 23:26–25:24 | | The assassination and historical medical malpractice | 25:31–30:26 | | Garfield’s erased legacy and what might have been | 30:26–31:36 | | Political violence, today and then | 31:36–33:48 |
Tone & Language
The conversation is engaging, brisk, and accessible, mixing reverence for Garfield’s lost potential with wit and clarity. Makowski’s passion for the subject infuses the episode with urgency and humanity, and both he and the host balance historical storytelling with poignant contemporary connections.
Conclusion
This episode brings to light James Garfield’s forgotten journey from a poor Ohio canal boy to a progressive leader with the potential to change American history, only to be cut down by senseless violence and medical ignorance. Through vivid anecdotes and reflections from Death by Lightning’s Mike Makowski, listeners are invited to reconsider Garfield’s legacy and note the sobering lessons—about political violence, forgotten leaders, and the meaning of public service—that resonate powerfully today.