The Spire

Ashwin Prabaharan ‘26

Co-Editor-in-Chief

Netflix recently released the historical miniseries “Death by Lightning” starring an ensemble cast of Matthew Macfadyen, Michael Shannon, Nick Offerman, Bradley Whitford, Betty Gilpin, and Shea Whigham. The show is premised in the late 1800s when then-Congressman James Garfield of Ohio was a low ranking member of the Republican party. With President Lincoln’s election in 1860, Republicans had held the presidency for nearly 20 years up until the 1880 presidential election. Enamered by the spoils system at this time, politicians dolled out patronage and jobs in return for political support especially at the national nominating conventions. The preacher, father, and Civil War Union general that was Garfield was a fierce proponent of civil service reform, finding himself disgusted with the treatment of bureaucratic jobs as simply rewards for supporters with little due regard for their duty to the American people. 

Death by Lightning begins with Garfield, wonderfully played by Michael Shannon, travelling to Chicago to offer a speech supporting Republican presidential candidate John Sherman at the national convention. Competing for the nomination were former President Ulysses Grant and Maine Senator James Blaine, along with other less viable candidates. Shannon does an impressive job emulating one of the nation’s less memorable leaders by bringing alive the preacher within the President, a man who was no stranger to the task of persuading his congregation of certain teachings and lessons. At the convention, Shannon offers an incredible appeal to the delegates to nominate Sherman, but it seems his speech only convinced the voters to nominate the speaker himself. Buoyed by his return to core Republican values, the struggle to end slavery, and the supremacy of the voter before all others in politics, delegates swarmed the ballot box to nominate the small-time congressman on the 36th ballot. Garfield would choose Chester Arthur of New York, played by Nick Offerman, as his vice presidential candidate to satisfy the very powerful New York Port controlling spoils faction of Senator Roscoe Conkling, played by Shea Whigham. Offerman and Whigham capture the thirst for unbridled power over political patronage to remain relevant in politics that Arthur and Conckling so desperately had. Offerman gives us an excellent performance of the contrarian vice president who is unashamed to put his mentor Conkling’s patronage-first agenda above that of his new boss, the recently elected President Garfield. 

The show then follows Garfield’s difficulties securing congressional approval for his cabinet and staff nominations, especially for critical positions such as Secretary of the Treasury and the Collector for the Port of New York. Mike Makowsky, the show’s creator, artfully blends contemporary rhetoric with a panache of modern-day slang, especially with the characters’ use of foul language. Moreover, a great deal of energy is spent on ensuring that the show be as faithful to the history of its time as possible, especially given it was only a four-episode series. The writing is sure to note the importance of Garfield’s adversaries, most importantly Conckling, who control 3/4ths of all federal tax revenue by essentially running the Port of New York. Offerman and Conckling balance the political and the gangster very well, demonstrating that the power to legislate came second to the power to offer jobs. 

Betty Gilpin as Lucretia Garfield, First Lady to President Garfield, skillfully portrays a character lost to history. Gilpin plays “Crete,” the supportive and at times stern wife of the nascent President in a manner that forces Garfield to cherish his commitments to both his family and the nation. Gilpin commands the show when her husband is felled by an assassin’s bullet, even slapping the Vice President to gather himself and serve the nation that so desperately needs him. Her ability to transform Crete from housewife to the nation’s stewardess and her husband’s closest friend is beyond memorable. Her performance places Crete into the minds of historians and amateurs alike to return to the personal life of the White House’s occupants at the First Lady’s time to dig up more clues on the Garfield family’s short stay.

However, I must save my highest praises for Matthew Macfadyen, playing assassin Charles Guiteau. Macfadyen makes Guiteau make sense. His eccentric, natural portrayal of the assassin makes us laugh and even feel sorry for the latter. Guiteau had his fair share of trouble with the law long before drawing his ivory-clad gun at the President as he waited for his train at the Sixth Street Station in Washington D.C. on July 2nd, 1881. He was a member of a free love society, stole from his own family, and faked many aspects of his life when confronted by law enforcement. His travails, however, are motivated by some innate calling by God to serve the greatest men of his time, whether it was Blaine, Conckling, or Garfield. Garfield became the man of his dreams, the saviour of the Republic. But when Garfield would not entertain his pleas for a job in his administration, that love turned into ferocious hatred. Garfield could not save himself, and the nation needed a hero to step in. Macfadyen turns the solemnity of the build up to the assasination into a deep dive into Guiteau’s psyche, where we see the madness take him over. It truly is an incredible performance to see Guiteau, who had envisioned history replete with his name, come to terms with the fact that he will be but a footnote in it when he faces the gallows. 

I cannot recommend Death by Lightning enough for your consideration. It’s history books come alive with a dash of artistic creativity thrown into the story. So at the next dorm party, do throw this show up on your TV. You will be the envy of all partygoers writ large at Holy Cross.

Featured image courtesy of Google Images