Pendleton civil service reform act of 1883

It eventually placed most federal employees on the merit system and marked the end of the so-called spoils system. A persistent problem, going back to the earliest days of the United States, had been the dispensing of federal jobs. The federal bureaucracy after the civil war was full of flaws and irrationality in the supervision and selection of officials.

This made the existing system ineffective and inefficient. Appointed minister to Germany by Pres. Arthur that overhauled government employment to a merit-based system.

Calls for reform had been occurring in political circles for quite some time, with little resolution. It established to ensure the positions in government should be based on merit instead of political affiliations. It provided selection of servants on competitive exam based. In each of these cases civil service was a part of a broader “reform movement” which was sweeping the country.

Garfield served only four months before he was shot by Charles J. Get this from a library! From then on, being a civil servant would be seen as a public duty rather than as a reward for. Passage of the act lost him support in Ohio and he was not nominated for a second term in the Senate. This act prohibited political contributions in exchange for appointment to federal government positions and barred the solicitation of campaign donations on federal government property. Civil Service Reform under Arthur.

Design flaws In a massive, highly structured organization — in particular, one in which both the benefits of long-term service and uncommon protection from termination are present, incentives to protect the status quo loom front and center. The Pendleton Act was a law passed by Congress, and signed by President Chester A. This came to be known as the Merit System. At the time percent of federal jobs were filled by examination. Today, percent are so filled. Eaton and sponsored by Ohio Senator George H. In New York, our State Constitution specifically mandates that civil service appointments be based on merit, not politics.

Historically, the civil service started under a spoils system which meant that jobs were used to support the political parties. A paragon of honesty, he sponsored civil service reform , where he challenged the patronage hungry Republican politicians. The Republican Party in the South grew steadily weaker as his efforts. This law stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. By the early twentieth century, nearly two thirds of federal workers were hired based on merit.

James by an office seeker. The act mandates that most positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political patronage. They discuss the spoils system, answer discussion questions, read and analyze speeches, complete a worksheet summarizing their findings, and report their findings to the class.

Public demand for civil - service reform to replace the system based on political party affiliation (the spoils system) resulted in a bill sponsored by Sen. George Pendleton , which provided for selection of government employees by competitive examination administered by a civil - service commission. Politicians, not businessmen, dominated the civil service before the Pendleton Act , and the civil service gave the politician his strength.