Death by Lightning Netflix.

[Anonymous]

This was great. I know next to nothing about this period in history though I recall James Blaine's name from an American history class. Great cast, including all the supporting actors. The convention scenes were exciting and the whole show surprisingly riveting.

[Anonymous]

Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Great post. We lost a lot more in him than I think most people know.

[Anonymous]

Aah! My husband and I were just discussing this show last night — he’d heard it was good, and I was skeptical. But I did not realize it was based on the Garfield assassination! Destiny of the Republic was one of the best books I read in 2025 (and I say this as someone with usually NO interest in historical nonfiction). For anyone else who might be on the fence, FYI it’s a fascinating story all around.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Great post. We lost a lot more in him than I think most people know.

As the PP who read the book, I completely agree how much we lost. He seemed like an honorable man.

I was struck by the fact that he was chosen as his party’s nominee despite NOT wanting the job. It is such a truism that anyone who *wants* to be president probably shouldn’t be president, and here is the rare? only? example of a president who didn’t want it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Great post. We lost a lot more in him than I think most people know.

As the PP who read the book, I completely agree how much we lost. He seemed like an honorable man.

I was struck by the fact that he was chosen as his party’s nominee despite NOT wanting the job. It is such a truism that anyone who *wants* to be president probably shouldn’t be president, and here is the rare? only? example of a president who didn’t want it.

That was fun with the states splitting up their electoral votes like that.

[Anonymous]

Really enjoyable watch. Agree on the acting all around. I do think Arthur was written as a bit of an exaggerated caricature, but that's the only real complaint that I had.

[Anonymous]

Another fan of DBL here.
I needed this show after being disappointed by All Her Fault and Beast In Me - two shows with great casts but plots that went way off the rails.

Also re Michael Shannon- check out his REM cover band on YouTube!

[Anonymous]

I was puzzled by the anachronistic language (and I doubt the Oneida people banged each other in the manner portrayed in the series), but that and the almost slapstick comedy makes me wonder--was this produced in part to present a very timely political message and capture the attention of people who would never read David McCollough or sit through a Ken Burns documentary? And did they keep it short to keep their attention to the story rather than taking more time to show the problems of patronage and the solution of civil service?

Have to confess I have never given enough thought to Garfield. I just knew he was shot and suffered a long time before he died. I didn't even know the motivation of the assassin.

I never realized how much those beards jut out when seen in profile!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Great post. We lost a lot more in him than I think most people know.

As the PP who read the book, I completely agree how much we lost. He seemed like an honorable man.

I was struck by the fact that he was chosen as his party’s nominee despite NOT wanting the job. It is such a truism that anyone who *wants* to be president probably shouldn’t be president, and here is the rare? only? example of a president who didn’t want it.

That was fun with the states splitting up their electoral votes like that.

It's decades since I watched any part of a convention nominating process on TV. How and when did this change at the major parties' conventions? seems to me that approach today could really help with the polarization, allow for more nuance and debate in party agendas, and get rid of the cynicism the voters feel about politics. Even if state electoral votes in the general election stayed undivided (except, I think, for Nebraska--good for them).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Great post. We lost a lot more in him than I think most people know.

As the PP who read the book, I completely agree how much we lost. He seemed like an honorable man.

I was struck by the fact that he was chosen as his party’s nominee despite NOT wanting the job. It is such a truism that anyone who *wants* to be president probably shouldn’t be president, and here is the rare? only? example of a president who didn’t want it.

That was fun with the states splitting up their electoral votes like that.

It's decades since I watched any part of a convention nominating process on TV. How and when did this change at the major parties' conventions? seems to me that approach today could really help with the polarization, allow for more nuance and debate in party agendas, and get rid of the cynicism the voters feel about politics. Even if state electoral votes in the general election stayed undivided (except, I think, for Nebraska--good for them).

Maine, too.

[Anonymous]

I will have to watch it

Today I wasn't sold on it maybe because I am just fed up with politics

I love history, though

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Really great series and so well acted by al linvolved. I love how Bradley Whitford plays the cynical idealist (or the idealistic cynic?).

I also went down a Garfield rabbit hole online, as I really didn't remember him from my HS Am History (except the "killed by a disgruntled office seeker" narrative). It really struck me as such a tragedy that we had two presidents in the 19th century that were perhaps capable of mitigating the awful path that race relations took after the Civil War -- and both were assassinated. If that bullet had been 6 inches to one side, perhaps it would not have taken 100 years to get basic civil rights for Black Americans?

I specifically looked up the campaign speech in New York because I thought the phrase "equal opportunity" sounded anachronistic. It turns out that the speech he actually gave is really good -- and pretty different from what they used in the series (In the series, weirdly, he used the term Negro, and in the actual speech he said Black, interestingly.) Also, in the series, he was introduced by Frederick Douglass, which did not happen in real life, but Douglass did introduce him for his inaugural speech, which is maybe more significant/important. Here is the actual campaign speech from the New York event -- also interesting is that he really credits Hamilton with helping create the country, which I found interesting because prior to the Chernow book and the musical, I feel like most Americans had sort of forgotten Hamilton or treated him as a minor footnote with the duel story.
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/garfield-campaign-speech/

Here's a little excerpt:
Soon after the great struggle [Civil War] began, we looked behind the army of white rebels, and saw 4,000,000 of black people condemned to toil as slaves for our enemies; and we found that the hearts of these 4,000,000 were God-inspired with the spirit of Liberty, and that they were all our friends. [Applause.] We have seen the white men betray the flag and fight to kill the Union; but in all that long, dreary war we never saw a traitor in a black skin. [Great cheers.] ... In all that period of suffering and danger, no Union soldier was ever betrayed by a black man or woman. [Applause.] And now that we have made them free, so long as we live we will stand by these black allies. [Renewed applause.] We will stand by them until the sun of liberty, fixed in the firmament of our Constitution, shall shine with equal ray upon every man, black or white, throughout the Union. [Cheers.] Fellow-citizens, fellow-soldiers, in this there is the beneficence of eternal justice, and by it we will stand forever. [Great applause.]

On the doctor issue, I don't think there's any evidence he was first attended by a Black doctor, but there is pretty good evidence that the doctor who treated him killed him with infection. Although interestingly some doctors wrote a study about a decade ago suggesting that he would have died even absent the infection, because the bullet passed so close to some organs that it created some problem with the organs that would have been fatal anyway. There's also some interesting stuff about the Xray machine -- that it would have found the bullet it not for the doctor insisting that they Xray the wrong side. But it was basically the first use of an Xray machine, and also the first real use of air conditioning to try to cool his fever in the DC summer.

Thanks for posting presidents Garfield’s speech. Prior to the series, the only thing I knew about him was that he was one of four POTUS assassinated. However, why do you doubt that Dr Charles Purvis attended Garfield. Purvis was the co-founder of Howard University’ medical school. I agree he was not Garfield’ primary physician, but Purvis just happened to be the only physician in the train station at the time, and did preliminary treatment. Due to racism, Purvis obviously did not do the follow up treatment or surgery.

With that said, I enjoyed the limited series and wanted more.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Burleigh_Purvis

[Anonymous]

Interesting facts - Abe Lincoln’s son, Robert, was 40 feet away when Garfield was shot, and was also in Buffalo when McKinley was shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Interesting facts - Abe Lincoln’s son, Robert, was 40 feet away when Garfield was shot, and was also in Buffalo when McKinley was shot.

Poor man. He was in the vicinity of the first three presidential assassinations.