23 oct. 1850 - Spoils System

Description:

The term “spoils system" refers to the conferral of office on people based upon political concerns rather than fitness for office. Viewed in its best light, it was a further expression of increased democratization in American politics—a person didn’t have to be a member of the elite in order to govern.
In the 1850s the spoils system was thoroughly entrenched as an instrument of political warfare both between the parties and among factions within them.