Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act: Difference between revisions
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== Definition == |
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| ⚫ | The '''Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act''' (ch. 27, {{USStat|22|403}}) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that |
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* '''''Basic edit on Grammatical structures of the first paragraph.''''' |
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| ⚫ | The '''Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act''' (ch. 27, {{USStat|22|403}}) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that decided that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation.<ref name=penl>http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1098</ref> The act provided selection of government employees by competitive exams,<ref name="penl" /> rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government officials for political reasons and prohibited soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property.<ref name="penl" /> To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the [[United States Civil Service Commission]].<ref name="penl" /> This board would be in charge of determining the rules and regulations of the act.<ref name=CS2014 />The Act also allowed for the president, by executive order to decide which positions could be subject to the act and which would not.<ref name=CS2014 /> A crucial result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business,<ref name=Tragedy>{{cite book|last=Quigley|first=Carroll|title=Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time|year=1966|publisher=MacMillian Co.|location=San Pedro, CA|isbn=094500110X|pages=71|url=http://www.amazon.com/Tragedy-Hope-History-World-Time/dp/094500110X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1347944945&sr=8-1&keywords=tragedy+and+hope}}</ref> since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls. |
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== History == |
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Started during the [[Chester Alan Arthur]] administration, the Pendleton Act served as a response to the massive public support of civil service reform that grew following President [[James Garfield]]'s [[Assassination of James A. Garfield|assassination]] by [[Charles J. Guiteau]].<ref name="penl" /> Despite his previous support of the patronage system,<ref name="penl" /> Arthur became an ardent supporter of civil service reform as the president.<ref name="penl" /> The Act was passed into law on January 16, 1883. The Act was sponsored by Senator [[George H. Pendleton]], Democratic Senator of Ohio, and written by Dorman Bridgeman Eaton, a staunch opponent of the patronage system who was later first chairman of the [[United States Civil Service Commission]]. However, the law would also prove to be a major political liability for Arthur.<ref name="penl" /> The law offended machine politicians {{clarification needed|date=February 2014}} within the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican Party]] and did not prove to be enough for the party's reformers; hence, Arthur lost popularity within the Republican Party and was unable to win the party's Presidential nomination at the [[1884 Republican National Convention]].<ref name="penl" /> |
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In the year of 1877 there was growing interest in the United States concerning the effects of the spoil system on the American political system. <ref name=CS2014 /> New York Established the Civil Service Reform Association to help address the issues, this establishment lead to several other organizations like it showing up in other cities. <ref name=CS2014>{{cite book|title=Civil Service 2014|publisher=Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia|url=http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/eds/detail/detail?vid=1&sid=0a1a74b1-da5a-4d83-9d8d-68f2d4ebbdca%40sessionmgr110&hid=120&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWRzLWxpdmUmc2NvcGU9c2l0ZQ%3d%3d#db=funk&AN=CI149100|accessdate=28 April 2015}}</ref> The presence of these organizations was one of the first steps in trying to up end the [[spoils system]] in America. What moved the Civil Service Reform from city organizations to a leading topic in the political realm was the assassination of [[President James Garfield]] |
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in 1881.<ref name=CS2014 /> President Garfield was assassination by [[Charles Guiteau]], because Guiteau believed the president owed him a patronage position.<ref name=TAP>{{cite web|title=Life and Death in the White House|url=http://americanhistory.si.edu/presidency/3d1d.html|website=The American Presidency|publisher=Smithsonian Natural Museum of American History|accessdate=29 April 2015}}</ref> After the assassination of President Garfield, Vice President [[Chester Aurthur]] acceded to presidency.<ref name=Study>{{cite web|title=Gilded Age Politics: Political Machines & Civil Service Reform|url=http://study.com/academy/lesson/gilded-age-politics-political-machines-civil-service-reform.html|website=Study.Com|accessdate=29 April 2015}}</ref> As the new president Aurthur pushed through the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.<ref name=Study /> On January 16, 1883 Congress passed the Civil Service Act, which is sometimes referred to as the Pendleton Act after U.S. Senator George Hunt Pendleton. ,<ref name=CS2014 /> Senator [[George H. Pendleton]] was one of the primary sponsors of the Act. The Act was written by [[Dorman Bridgeman Eaton]], a staunch opponent of the patronage system who was later first chairman of the [[United States Civil Service Commission]]. However, the law would also prove to be a major political liability for Arthur.<ref name="penl" /> The law offended machine politicians, or politicians who belong to a small clique that controls a political party. <ref name=TFD>{{cite web|title=Machine Politician|url=http://www.thefreedictionary.com/machine+politician|website=The Free Dictionary|accessdate=29 April 2015}}</ref> These politicians realized that with the Pendleton Act in place they would have to find a new means of income, since they could no longer count on donations from the wealthy hoping to receive jobs.<ref name=Study /> |
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The law was only applied to federal government jobs and not to the state and local jobs that were the basis for political machines.{{clarification needed|date=February 2014}} At first the Pendleton Act only covered a very minimum quantity of jobs, only about 10% of the US government's civilian employees had civil service jobs.<ref name="penl" /> However, there was a provision that allowed outgoing presidents to lock in their own appointees by converting jobs to civil service. After a series of party reversals at the presidential level (1884, 1888, 1892, 1896), the result was that most federal jobs were under civil service. |
The law was only applied to federal government jobs and not to the state and local jobs that were the basis for political machines.{{clarification needed|date=February 2014}} At first the Pendleton Act only covered a very minimum quantity of jobs, only about 10% of the US government's civilian employees had civil service jobs.<ref name="penl" /> However, there was a provision that allowed outgoing presidents to lock in their own appointees by converting jobs to civil service. After a series of party reversals at the presidential level (1884, 1888, 1892, 1896), the result was that most federal jobs were under civil service. |
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* [[Spoils System]] |
* [[Spoils System]] |
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* [[ United States Civil Service Commission]] |
* [[ United States Civil Service Commission]] |
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==References== |
==References== |
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{{Refbegin|2}} |
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*{{cite book |title=Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865-1883|last=Hoogenboom |first=Ari |authorlink= Ari Hoogenboom |coauthors= |year=1961 |publisher=University of Illinois |location= |isbn=0-313-22821-3 |page= |pages= |url= |accessdate=}} |
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*{{cite book |title=History of the United States Civil Service |last=Van Riper |first=Paul P. |authorlink=Paul P. Van Riper |coauthors= |year=1958 |publisher=Row, Peterson and Co |location= |isbn=0-8371-8755-9 |page= |pages= |url= |accessdate=}} |
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{{Refend}} |
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{{Refbegin}} |
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*{{cite book |title=Fighting the Spoilsmen: Reminiscences of The Civil Service Reform Movement |last=Foulke |first=William Dudley |authorlink=William Dudley Foulke |year=1919 |publisher=G. P. Putnam's Sons |location=New York |url=http://books.google.com/?id=s8pAAAAAIAAJ}} |
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*{{cite book |title=Bibliography of Civil Service Reform and Related Subjects (2nd ed.) |author=Women's Auxiliary to the Civil Service Reform Association |year=1907 |publisher= |location=New York |url=http://books.google.com/?id=R3Y_AAAAIAAJ}} |
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{{Refend}} |
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Revision as of 19:21, 6 May 2015
.svg) | |
| Long title | An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States |
|---|---|
| Nicknames | Pendleton Act |
| Enacted by | the 47th United States Congress |
| Citations | |
| Statutes at Large | ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403 |
| Legislative history | |
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Definition
- Basic edit on Grammatical structures of the first paragraph.
The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that decided that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political affiliation.[1] The act provided selection of government employees by competitive exams,[1] rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government officials for political reasons and prohibited soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property.[1] To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission.[1] This board would be in charge of determining the rules and regulations of the act.[2]The Act also allowed for the president, by executive order to decide which positions could be subject to the act and which would not.[2] A crucial result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business,[3] since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls.
History
In the year of 1877 there was growing interest in the United States concerning the effects of the spoil system on the American political system. [2] New York Established the Civil Service Reform Association to help address the issues, this establishment lead to several other organizations like it showing up in other cities. [2] The presence of these organizations was one of the first steps in trying to up end the spoils system in America. What moved the Civil Service Reform from city organizations to a leading topic in the political realm was the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881.[2] President Garfield was assassination by Charles Guiteau, because Guiteau believed the president owed him a patronage position.[4] After the assassination of President Garfield, Vice President Chester Aurthur acceded to presidency.[5] As the new president Aurthur pushed through the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act.[5] On January 16, 1883 Congress passed the Civil Service Act, which is sometimes referred to as the Pendleton Act after U.S. Senator George Hunt Pendleton. ,[2] Senator George H. Pendleton was one of the primary sponsors of the Act. The Act was written by Dorman Bridgeman Eaton, a staunch opponent of the patronage system who was later first chairman of the United States Civil Service Commission. However, the law would also prove to be a major political liability for Arthur.[1] The law offended machine politicians, or politicians who belong to a small clique that controls a political party. [6] These politicians realized that with the Pendleton Act in place they would have to find a new means of income, since they could no longer count on donations from the wealthy hoping to receive jobs.[5]
The law was only applied to federal government jobs and not to the state and local jobs that were the basis for political machines.[clarification needed] At first the Pendleton Act only covered a very minimum quantity of jobs, only about 10% of the US government's civilian employees had civil service jobs.[1] However, there was a provision that allowed outgoing presidents to lock in their own appointees by converting jobs to civil service. After a series of party reversals at the presidential level (1884, 1888, 1892, 1896), the result was that most federal jobs were under civil service.
See also
- Civil Service
- Civil Service Reform Act of 1978
- George H. Pendleton
- National Civil Service Reform League
- Spoils System
- United States Civil Service Commission
References
- ^ a b c d e f http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/disp_textbook.cfm?smtID=3&psid=1098
- ^ a b c d e f Civil Service 2014. Funk & Wagnalls New World Encyclopedia. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ^ Quigley, Carroll (1966). Tragedy and Hope: A History of the World in Our Time. San Pedro, CA: MacMillian Co. p. 71. ISBN 094500110X.
- ^ "Life and Death in the White House". The American Presidency. Smithsonian Natural Museum of American History. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ a b c "Gilded Age Politics: Political Machines & Civil Service Reform". Study.Com. Retrieved 29 April 2015.
- ^ "Machine Politician". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 29 April 2015.