Before 1881, presidents would clean out the Washington bureaucracy when they came into office. Democrats were tossed when a Republican came in and Whigs, before that, were laid off when a Democrat was elected. So every four or eight years, most “civil servants” lost their jobs and a new set of party loyalists would take over the positions. This happened under Washington, Jefferson, and even Lincoln. This was a way of rewarding party loyalists with the “spoils of victory.”
James Garfield wanted to change this and transform the Federal bureaucracy into a merit-based structure where civil servants were not likely to be fired because they were of the wrong party. It got him killed.
As you know, the one thing most Americans know about Garfield is that he “was killed by a disappointed office seeker.” Charles Guiteau, the assassin, was not an enemy of Garfield before he was elected. He was a Republican, as was Garfield, and he was a “Stalwart,” a die-hard loyalist to his party. He also seems to have been afflicted with mental disturbance.
Netflix has finished filming a new series on Garfield and the assassination called “Death By Lightning.” The new series will include characters long-known to students of the Civil War. Garfield, of course was a Union general and a constant critic of Major General Rosecrans. Chester Arthur was Garfield’s Vice President and the man who stood to gain the most from the assassination. Garfield was put in charge of housing and supplies for the tens of thousands of New York Union army recruits during the Civil War. Senator Roscoe Conkling of New York was a founding member of the Republican Party in New York State and an early supporter of Lincoln on the East Coast. During the war, he controlled many of the appointments made in the state under Lincoln. After the war he and his assistant Chester Arthur became rich on government contracts. When Garfield was assassinated, many blamed Conkling who was the leader of the Stalwarts and a critic of Garfield’s civil service proposals. Robert Todd Lincoln, Frederick Douglass, James Blaine and a host of lesser characters from the Civil War are included in the cast of characters in the series.
“Death by Lightning” will come out later this year. Here is the cast:
- Michael Shannon (George & Tammy, Waco, Nocturnal Animals) will play James Garfield.
- Matthew Macfadyen (Succession, Deadpool 3, Operation Mincemeat) will play Charles Guiteau.
- Betty Gilpin (American Primeval, GLOW, Mrs. Davis) will play first lady Crete Garfield.
- Nick Offerman (The Last of Us, Parks and Recreation, Fargo) will play Vice President Chester Arthur.
- Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale, Get Out, The West Wing) will play Secretary of State James Blaine.
- Shea Whigham (Joker, Take Shelter) will play Senator Roscoe Conkling.
- Paula Malcomson (Deadwood, Ray Donovan) will play Franny Scoville, sister of Charles Guiteau.
- Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey, Mank) will play Kate Chase Sprague.
- Archie Fisher (Steve, Last Days of John Allen Chau) will play Joe Brown.
- Laura Marcus (The Serpent Queen) will play Mollie Garfield.
- Barry Shabaka Henley (Forever, Bob Hearts Abishola) will play Senator Blanche Bruce.
- Željko Ivanek (Damages, Walking Dead: Dead City) will play Dr. Bliss.
- Kyle Soller (Andor, Bodies) will play Robert Todd Lincoln.
- Ben Miles (The Crown, Napoleon) will play George Scoville.
- Vondie Curtis-Hall (Harriet) will play Frederick Douglass.
- Shaun Parkes (Small Axe: Mangrove) will play Dr. Charles Purvis.
- Alistair Petrie (The Night Manager, Sex Education) will play John Sherman.
I will let you know when the series is scheduled to run.
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