- Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act
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The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of United States is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit.[1] The act provided selection of government employees competitive exams,[1] rather than ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made it illegal to fire or demote government employees for political reasons.[1] To enforce the merit system and the judicial system, the law also created the United States Civil Service Commission.[1]
Started during the Chester A. 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 by Charles Julius Guiteau.[1] Despite his previous support of the patronage system,[1] Arthur, nevertheless, became an ardent supporter of civil service reform as president.[1] 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.[1] The law offended machine politicians within the 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.[1]
The law only applied to federal government jobs: not to the state and local jobs that were the basis for political machines. At first, the Pendleton Act only covered very few jobs, as only 10% of the US government's civilian employees had civil service jobs.[1] However, there was a ratchet provision whereby outgoing presidents could lock in their own appointees by converting their 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. One result was more expertise and less politics. An unintended result was the shift of the parties to reliance on funding from business, since they could no longer depend on patronage hopefuls. The act also prohibits soliciting campaign donations on Federal government property.
Contents
See also
References
- Hoogenboom, Ari (1961). Outlawing the Spoils: A History of the Civil Service Reform Movement, 1865-1883. University of Illinois. ISBN 0313228213.
- Van Riper, Paul P. (1958). History of the United States Civil Service. Row, Peterson and Co. ISBN 0837187559.
Further reading
19th century
- Bernard, George S. (1885). Civil Service Reform Versus The Spoils System: The Merit Plan For The Filling of Public Offices Advocated In A Series Of Articles Originally Published In A Virginia Journal. New York: John B. Alden. http://books.google.com/?id=89-HAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Boston Civil Service Reform Association (1882). Prize Essays On Civil Service Reform. Boston: Geo. H. Ellis. http://books.google.com/?id=4H6PWiF1xZ4C. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Clarke, William Harrison (1887). The Civil Service Law: A Defense Of Its Principles, With Corroborative Evidence From The Works Of Many Eminent American Statesment. New York: Charles T. Dillingham. http://books.google.com/?id=JBFJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Dawson, George Francis (1888). "XIII. Civil Service Reform". The Republican Campaign Text-Book for 1888. New York: Brentano's (For the Republican National Committee). http://books.google.com/?id=oOZ1KwhC8xAC&pg=PA194. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Fish, Carl Russell (1882). The Civil Service and The Patronage. Boston: Geo. H. Ellis. http://books.google.com/?id=6CEIAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28. accessdate=2010-10-05
- Foster, William Eaton (1882). The Civil-Service Reform Movement. Boston: Geo. H. Ellis. http://books.google.com/?id=IxFJAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Hunt, Gaillard (October 1885). "A Clerk's View of Civil Service Reform". The United Service. A Monthly Magazine, Devocted to the Interests of the Military, Naval, and Civil Service XIII: 452–455. http://books.google.com/?id=CMwCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA452. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- National Civil Service Reform League (1883). Proceedings At The Annual Meeting of The National Civil Service Reform League. New York: William S. Gottsberger. http://books.google.com/?id=IDM1AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- National Civil Service Reform League (1891). Civil Service Reform In The National Service 1889-1891: Six Reports Of The Special Investigating Committee. New York: William S. Gottsberger. http://books.google.com/?id=G4PXcgSTOwIC. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Patton, J. Harris (1884). "XLIV. Civil Service Reform". The Democratic Party: Its Political History and Influence. New York: Ford, Howard, & Hulbert. pp. 310–313. http://books.google.com/?id=3TFJAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA310. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Prentiss, George L. (1877). Our National Bane; Or, The Dry-Rot In American Politics. A Tract For The Times Touching Civil Service Reform. New York: Anson D. F .Randolph & Company. http://books.google.com/?id=zDkeAAAAMAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Roosevelt, Theodore (May 1886). "The Present Position Of Civil Service Reform". The New Princeton Review I (3): 362–372. http://books.google.com/?id=CPjQAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA362. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- U.S. Congress, Senate (1888). Operations Of The Civil Service, Report No. 2373 to the U.S. Senate, 50th Congress, 1st Session. Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office. http://books.google.com/?id=py4UAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Ward, Lester F. (July 1889). "True And False Civil Service Reform". Belford's Monthly III (18): 202–210. http://books.google.com/?id=1ErOAAAAMAAJ&pg=RA1-PA202. Retrieved 2008-08-27.
20th century
- losrFoulke (1919). Fighting the Spoilsmen: Reminiscences of The Civil Service Reform Movement. New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. http://books.google.com/?id=s8pAAAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- Women's Auxiliary to the Civil Service Reform Association (1907). Bibliography of Civil Service Reform and Related Subjects (2nd ed.). New York. http://books.google.com/?id=R3Y_AAAAIAAJ. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
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- 1883 in the United States
- Civil service in the United States
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- History of the United States (1865–1918)
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