25 mars 1883 - Pendleton Act

Description:

This act was triggered by President Garfield’s assassination. He was killed by a someone that was pissed Garfield hadn’t given him a job after he helped Garfield get elected.

The assasination made Congress think about federal gov workers (civil service). People usually got civil service jobs by supporting the current president (who appointed the workers).

The spoils system was used ever since Jackson; jobs as rewards. It was really annoying because whenever there was a new president, the workers changed, and they were often not competent.

Pendleton Act: fed. gov. jobs = based on merit. Affects about 3 million jobs today, thousands at the time. Creates civil service exams, no more presidential appointments. Goal = competent people in gov jobs. Makes firing people for their political preferences illegal.

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