Spoils System vs Merit System

The spoils system, also known as patronage, was a system in which people, for their support of a party, would get government positions. This meant that many of the government members were new and from the same party as the president. Andrew Jackson is known for using the spoils system. When he became President, Jackson substituted everyone in the government for his supporters, the "Jacksonian Democrats." Jackson believed that it was good to clear out government office members to keep the government from becoming corrupt.

In 1881, Charles Guiteau assassinated President James Garfield because he was not allowed a government job. After President Garfield's assassination , Congress passed the Pendleton Act which stopped the spoils system. The Pendleton Act created a new system, the merit system. The merit system required exams for federal employment. To do this, the Pendleton Act established a  three-member Civil Service Commission administered the system. So, jobs given through the merit system were based off of skill and ability to do the job, unlike the spoils system, were jobs were given because of connections with people in the government.

I believe that the spoils system is still in a small way part of our government today. For example, Obama appointed ambassadors, but only 5 out of the 18 at that time were actual diplomats. It happens to be that the rest are people who helped Obama during his campaign. Many of these "diplomats" have raised hundreds of dollars. For example, Charles Rivkin, an entertainment mogul, who was appointed to go to Paris, France, raised $800,00 for Obama. This is an example of the spoils system. Supporters of Obama raised money for him, and as a reward they are given government jobs, whether they are qualified to do the job or not.

(http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/30/us/politics/29web-baker.html?_r=0)