Asked by xochitl
How did the spoils system affect President James Garfield and his successor Chester A. Arthur?
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The spoils system — awarding government jobs to political supporters — shaped both men’s presidencies in opposite ways.
- For James A. Garfield: Garfield’s 1880 victory came amid a bitter Republican split between the patronage-friendly Stalwarts and reform-minded Half-Breeds. Garfield tried to reduce patronage and appoint some reformers, which angered Stalwart partisans and left many office-seekers bitter. A mentally unstable, disappointed office-seeker, Charles J. Guiteau, shot Garfield on July 2, 1881; Garfield died September 19. Guiteau’s motive centered on being refused a patronage appointment and believing his crime would aid the Stalwarts — the assassination highlighted the dangers of the spoils system.
- For Chester A. Arthur: Arthur had been a product and beneficiary of the patronage system (he was a longtime Conkling ally and Collector of the Port of New York). As president, however, he responded to the public outcry over Garfield’s murder by embracing civil-service reform. In 1883 he signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which created a Civil Service Commission, established competitive exams for many federal jobs, and began shifting federal employment toward merit rather than political reward (initially covering only a small portion of jobs, but expandable).
In short: the spoils system helped create the crisis that cost Garfield his life and then pushed his successor — a former patronage insider — to enact the Pendleton Act and start the federal civil-service system.
- For James A. Garfield: Garfield’s 1880 victory came amid a bitter Republican split between the patronage-friendly Stalwarts and reform-minded Half-Breeds. Garfield tried to reduce patronage and appoint some reformers, which angered Stalwart partisans and left many office-seekers bitter. A mentally unstable, disappointed office-seeker, Charles J. Guiteau, shot Garfield on July 2, 1881; Garfield died September 19. Guiteau’s motive centered on being refused a patronage appointment and believing his crime would aid the Stalwarts — the assassination highlighted the dangers of the spoils system.
- For Chester A. Arthur: Arthur had been a product and beneficiary of the patronage system (he was a longtime Conkling ally and Collector of the Port of New York). As president, however, he responded to the public outcry over Garfield’s murder by embracing civil-service reform. In 1883 he signed the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which created a Civil Service Commission, established competitive exams for many federal jobs, and began shifting federal employment toward merit rather than political reward (initially covering only a small portion of jobs, but expandable).
In short: the spoils system helped create the crisis that cost Garfield his life and then pushed his successor — a former patronage insider — to enact the Pendleton Act and start the federal civil-service system.
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