jul 30, 1881 - Civil Service Reform: Pendleton Act (POL)

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After the assassination of President Garfield in 1881, fury from the public invoked Congress to get rid of some government jobs that were under the management of the party patronage and pass, on the same year, The Pendleton Act of 1881, inducing Civil Service Reform and who could take on federal jobs within governance. The Act set up the foundation of a Civil Service Commision and developed a standard by which applicants for federal jobs would be selected for federal jobs based on the scores they placed in an exam and prohibited civil servants from having any political contributions. Initially this law would only apply to a small portion of federal jobs but over time, this legislation many federal jobs would be taken out of the grasp of politicians, allowing for better suited individuals to take on the federal jobs that were once occupied by faithful supporters of a politician. In response to this social reform, many politicians started becoming more reliant on the rich to fund their campaigns over their large masses of faithful supporters.

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