Spoils System Definition

A Spoils System is defined as” a practice where a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party.” It contrasts with the merit system where individuals earn their job based on qualifications and not political activity.

The Spoils System History

The term spoils system was derived from the phrase, “to the victory go the spoils” said in a speech by New York Senator William L. Marcy. While the spoils system was used by presidents as far back as Thomas Jefferson, it was used most extensively by Andrew Jackson during his presidency. Jackson used the spoils system as a way for strengthening the base of his political party by rewarding those who supported him. As time went on the level of corruption and inefficiency associated with the Spoils System continued to grow, as unqualified individuals were given jobs they had no idea how to perform in order to receive the benefits associated with being a political figurehead.This, however, helped presidents ensure continued leadership. During the presidency of Ulysses S. Grant, corruption and inefficiency reached an all-time high causing a public outcry. While Grant refused to recognize the people’s call for reform, the assassination of President James A. Garfield in 1881 by a rejected office seeker ultimately led to the civil service reform.

Pendleton Act

In 1883, Congress passed the Pendleton Act, which made a portion of all government jobs attainable only based on merit. It created a Civil Service Commission that was responsible for evaluating job applicants in a nonpartisan way, generally with a written examination.

Office of Personal Managment

In response to the Watergate scandal and other issues, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 was passed. It abolished the United States Civil Service Commission and replaced it with the Office of Personnel Management. The mission of OPM is to “recruit, retain, and honor a world class work force to serve the American people.” OPM continues to ensure impartiality when hiring most government employees and makes sure they are hired based on merit.

Effects on Bureacracy

The Pendleton Act initially only applied to about ten percent of government jobs. Today, about two-thirds of government jobs are attained through a competitive process that determines merit and that is overseen by OPM. Only three percent of government jobs are “handed out” by presidents and this usually only applies to high level positions like cabinet heads. The remaining government jobs are awarded by individual agencies that base hiring on their own merit based system. The misuse and abuse of the Spoils System and the subsequent reforms that followed led to the development of many of the rules bureaucrats must follow in order to ensure impartiality and efficient government productivity for better “customer service”.

Websites Used:

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/history/spoils-system.html

http://www.shmoop.com/federal-bureaucracy/spoils-system.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spoils_system