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United States Congress
In a speech before the United States Senate in 1832, William Marcy noted "They see nothing wrong
in the rule that to the victor belong the spoils of the enemy." Indeed, the "Spoils System"
was the engine that drove much of national politics. The victorious party discharged most of the federal
employees appointed by the party previously in power—including hundreds of postmasters scattered all over
the land—and replaced them with their own supporters. Behind the rhetoric, presidential elections were
fierce struggles between men who were clinging to their government jobs and others who were eager to supplant
them.
The system led to widespread corruption. Many officeholders were intent on gaining as much as possible
from their positions, since they could not be sure of holding them for long. It also contributed to general
inefficiency, since men were chosen for office on the basis of their past—and future—contributions to
their party rather than for their competence or aptness for their posts. The spread of corruption within
the federal government became notorious in the administration of Ulysses Grant (1869–1877). High-ranking
members of the government were found to have accepted bribes to support the Union Pacific Railway; the
government gave away vast tracts of land and large subsidies to support Western railways; and Grant’s
cronies managed to influence government monetary policy, with the result that some insiders grew extremely
wealthy, while a great many others were financially ruined. The rise of a reform movement convinced Grant
not to seek a third term.
As the affairs of the nation continued to grow more complex, the need for competent and experienced government
workers became more apparent and the sentiment for reform of the civil service became more vociferous.
The assassination of President James Garfield by a disappointed job-seeker in 1881 proved to be the catalyst
for a change. President Chester A. Arthur requested Congress to pass civil service legislation, and, in
1883, the Pendleton Act was passed. The new regulation provided that some 13,000 government employees
would be hired on the basis of a competitive examination. This was a small but important step toward reform
and initiated a long process aimed at the depoliticization of government employment.
A great deal of personal political power was lost by the office of the president in this process, with
the result that local party organizations grew comparatively more important and the personal stature of
the presidential candidate less so. The Pendleton Act led, at least indirectly, to the famous "smoke-filled
rooms" and power-brokering by which presidential candidates were chosen during the early decades
of the twentieth century.
Under the old system political activism and party loyalty would be key elements in hiring. How would job
candidates be judged under the provisions of the Pendleton Act? What control would the president exercise
over the process? What provisions does the Pendleton Act make for job classification? Do you think this
act has removed politics from government hiring?
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