The spoils system involved awarding government jobs to political supporters and significantly affected Presidents James Garfield and Chester A. Arthur. Garfield opposed the system but was caught in a conflict between reformers and "stalwarts," ultimately leading to his assassination by Charles Guiteau, who sought a government position. After Garfield's death in 1881, Arthur, initially a supporter of the spoils system, shifted his stance and endorsed reforms. He championed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, which aimed to replace political connections with merit-based hiring for government jobs. Thus, the spoils system influenced both Garfield's tragic presidency and Arthur's reform efforts.
The spoils system was a practice where government jobs were handed out to people who supported political leaders. This system had a big impact on President James Garfield and his successor, Chester A. Arthur. Garfield didn't really like the spoils system, but he found himself stuck in a struggle between two groups in his party: the reformers who wanted to change things and the "stalwarts" who wanted to keep the system as it was. This conflict played a role in his assassination by Charles Guiteau, a man who thought he deserved a government job because he had supported Garfield’s campaign.After Garfield was killed in 1881, Chester A. Arthur, who had supported the spoils system before, started to think differently about it. As president, he surprised everyone by backing reforms to improve the system. He worked on the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act of 1883, which aimed to reduce the influence of the spoils system and promote hiring based on merit instead of political connections. So, the spoils system not only affected Garfield's time in office through struggle and tragedy but also changed Arthur’s approach to government jobs and reform.
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