What Actions Did Congress Take To Reform The Civil Service? Why Were These Steps Necessary?

Ceremonious Service Reform

The Stalwarts, a faction of the Republican Party in the tardily nineteenth century, opposed civil service reform and favored machine politics.

Learning Objectives

Summarize efforts made to reform the civil service arrangement

Key Takeaways

Primal Points

• During the Republican National Convention of 1880, the One-half-Breeds advocated the candidacy of James Blaine of Maine for president. A stalemate occurred betwixt the Half-Breeds and the Stalwarts, and a compromise was struck to nominate a decent, less abrasive human being: James Garfield.
• Instead of giving federal jobs to political supporters, Rutherford B. Hayes wished to award them past merit according to an examination that all applicants would take. Immediately, Hayes's phone call for reform brought him into disharmonize with the Stalwart, or pro-spoils, branch of the Republican party.
• Hayes made strides toward eliminating political patronage in government jobs during his administration.

Key Terms

• reform: Amendment of what is defective, vicious, corrupt, or depraved.
• Chester A. Arthur: (October v, 1829–November 18, 1886) The 21st president of the United States (1881–1885), who took role after the bump-off of President James A. Garfield. Arthur overcame suspicions about his beginnings as a politician by embracing the crusade of civil service reform. His advancement for, and enforcement of, the Pendleton Ceremonious Service Reform Act was the centerpiece of his assistants.
• stalwart: A member of a faction of the Republican Party toward the finish of the nineteenth century. Stalwarts were the "traditional" Republicans who opposed Rutherford B. Hayes's civil service reform. They were pitted against the One-half-Breeds (moderates) for control of the Republican Political party. The only real upshot between Stalwarts and One-half-Breeds was patronage. The Half-Breeds worked to get civil service reform, and finally created the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act. Stalwarts favored traditional machine politics.
• spoils system: A exercise in which a political party, after winning an election, gives regime jobs to its voters as a reward for their support and as an incentive to continue working for the political party.

Rutherford B. Hayes

Ceremonious service reform in the United States was a major national issue in the tardily 1800s and a major country issue in the early 1900s. President Rutherford B. Hayes took office determined to reform the system of civil service appointments, which had been based on the spoils organisation since Andrew Jackson was president. Instead of giving federal jobs to political supporters, Hayes wished to laurels them by merit co-ordinate to an examination that all applicants would accept. Immediately, Hayes'southward call for reform brought him into disharmonize with the Stalwarts, a pro-spoils branch of the Republican party. Senators of both parties were accustomed to being consulted almost political appointments and turned against Hayes. Foremost among his enemies was New York Senator Roscoe Conkling, who fought Hayes's reform efforts at every turn.

To testify his delivery to reform, Hayes appointed one of the best-known advocates of reform, Carl Schurz, to be secretary of the Interior and asked Schurz and William Thousand. Evarts, his secretary of state, to lead a special cabinet committee charged with cartoon up new rules for federal appointments. John Sherman, the Treasury secretary, ordered John Jay to investigate the New York Custom Business firm, which was stacked with Conkling'southward spoilsmen. Jay'due south written report suggested that the New York Custom Firm was so overstaffed with political appointees that 20 percentage of the employees were expendable.

Although he could non convince Congress to outlaw the spoils system, Hayes issued an executive social club that forbade federal office holders from being required to make campaign contributions or otherwise taking part in party politics. Chester A. Arthur, the collector of the Port of New York, and his subordinates Alonzo B. Cornell and George H. Sharpe, all Conkling supporters, refused to obey the president's order. In September 1877, Hayes demanded the three men's resignations, which they refused to give.

Hayes was forced to look until July 1878 when, during a Congressional recess, he fired Arthur and Cornell and replaced them through the recess appointments of Merritt and Silas W. Burt, respectively. Conkling opposed the appointees' confirmation when the Senate reconvened in February 1879, but Merritt was approved by a vote of 31 to 25, as was Burt by 31 to 19, giving Hayes his well-nigh significant ceremonious service reform victory. For the remainder of his term, Hayes pressed Congress to enact permanent reform legislation, even using his last annual message to Congress on December 6, 1880, to appeal for reform. While reform legislation did non pass during Hayes's presidency, his advocacy provided, "a pregnant precedent equally well as the political impetus for the Pendleton Human action of 1883," which was signed into law past President Chester Arthur.

Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act

The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Human activity (ch. 27, 22 Stat. 403) of the Us is a federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit. The act provided for the selection of government employees based on competitive exams, rather than on ties to politicians or political affiliation. It also made information technology illegal to burn down or demote authorities employees for political reasons. To enforce the merit organization and the judicial organisation, the police force also created the Usa Civil Service Commission.

The Pendleton Act served as a response to the massive public support of ceremonious service reform that grew following President Garfield'south assassination. Despite his previous back up of the patronage system, Arthur, still, became an ardent supporter of civil service reform as president. However, the constabulary besides would prove to be a major political liability for Arthur. The constabulary offended machine politicians within the Republican Party and did not testify to be enough for the political party's reformers; hence, Arthur lost popularity inside the Republican Party and was unable to win the political party's Presidential nomination at the 1884 Republican National Convention.

Post Reform

"From the Toe-Path to the White Business firm": Hayes kicking Chester A. Arthur out of the New York Custom House.

President Hayes likewise dealt with abuse in the postal service. In 1880, Schurz and Senator John A. Logan asked Hayes to shut downward the " star route " rings, a system of decadent contract profiteering in the Mail, and to burn down Second Assistant Postmaster General Thomas J. Brady, the alleged ring leader. Hayes stopped granting new star route contracts, simply allow existing contracts go on to be enforced. Democrats accused Hayes of delaying proper investigation so as not to hurt Republican chances in the 1880 elections just did not press the issue in their campaign literature, as members of both parties were implicated in the corruption. Although Hayes and Congress both looked into the contracts and found no compelling bear witness of wrongdoing, Brady and others were indicted for conspiracy in 1882. Later ii trials, the defendants were found not guilty in 1883.

When Arthur succeeded Garfield, reformers feared that Arthur, as a product of the spoils system, would non devote his administration's energy to continuing the investigation into the Postal Service scandal. Notwithstanding, when a new trial of Brady was granted due to questions of blackmail, Arthur removed five federal officeholders who were sympathetic with the defense force, including a sometime senator. The second trial began in December 1882, and lasted until July 1883, simply over again, did not result in a guilty verdict. Failure to obtain a conviction tarnished the administration's epitome, just Arthur did succeed in putting a finish to the fraud.

The Scurrilous Campaign

The outcome of personal character figured prominently in the 1884 presidential entrada.

Learning Objectives

Examine the signature achievements of the Cleveland administration

Key Takeaways

Fundamental Points

• The presidential campaign of 1884 was marked by an emphasis on personality and scandal.
• James Thousand. Blaine, the Republican nominee, was implicated in a scandal that involved his burning of several important letters that revealed he took money from corporations in substitution for political influence.
• Grover Cleveland, the Autonomous nominee, was discovered to have fathered a child out of wedlock.
• Though the popular vote was shut, Cleveland won in the Electoral College.
• Early in his presidency, Cleveland focused on political reform of the spoils organisation.
• Cleveland fought against Republicans to lower import tariffs.

Key Terms

• mugwump: A Republican political activist who bolted from the U.South. Republican Party by supporting Democratic candidate Grover Cleveland in the presidential election of 1884.
• James G. Blaine: An American Republican politician who served as a U.Due south. representative, speaker of the U.Southward. Firm of Representatives, a U.S. senator from Maine, and twice as secretary of state. He was nominated for president in 1884, but was narrowly defeated by Democrat Grover Cleveland.
• Grover Cleveland: The 22nd and 24th president of the Usa, the but president to serve two nonconsecutive terms (1885–1889 and 1893–1897), and therefore, the merely individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents.
• Tariff Act of 1890: A law framed past Representative William McKinley that raised the average duty on imports to almost l percent, an human activity designed to protect domestic industries from foreign competition.

The issue of personal character was paramount in the 1884 presidential entrada. Former Speaker of the House James One thousand. Blaine had been prevented from getting the Republican presidential nomination during the previous 2 elections because of the stigma of the "Mulligan letters." In 1876, a Boston bookkeeper named James Mulligan had located some letters showing that Blaine had sold his influence in Congress to various businesses. I such alphabetic character ended with the phrase, "burn this letter of the alphabet," from which a pop dirge of the Democrats arose: "Burn, burn, burn this letter!" In only 1 deal, Blaine had received $110,150 ( more than $i.v million in 2010 dollars) from the Piffling Rock and Fort Smith Railroad for securing a federal land grant, among other things. Democrats and anti-Blaine Republicans fabricated unrestrained attacks on his integrity as a result.

New York Governor Grover Cleveland, on the other hand, was known as "Grover the Good" for his personal integrity. In the space of the iii previous years, he successively had become the mayor of Buffalo and then the governor of the state of New York, cleaning up large amounts of Tammany Hall 's corrupt political machinery.

It came as a tremendous shock when, on July 21, the Buffalo Evening Telegraph reported that Cleveland had fathered a child out of wedlock, that the kid had gone to an orphanage, and that the female parent had been driven into an asylum. Cleveland'southward campaign decided that candor was the best arroyo to this scandal: They admitted that Cleveland had formed an "illicit connection" with the female parent and that a kid had been born and given the Cleveland surname. They also noted that there was no proof that Cleveland was the father, and claimed that, by assuming responsibility and finding a dwelling for the child, he was merely doing his duty. Finally, they showed that the mother had not been forced into an asylum. Her whereabouts were unknown.

Cleveland Gains Support

The Democrats held their convention in Chicago the post-obit month and nominated Governor Grover Cleveland of New York. Cleveland's fourth dimension on the national scene was brief, but Democrats hoped that his reputation every bit a reformer and an opponent of corruption would attract Republicans dissatisfied with Blaine and his reputation for scandal. They were right, as reform-minded Mugwump Republicans denounced Blaine every bit corrupt and flocked to Cleveland. The Mugwumps, including such men every bit Carl Schurz and Henry Ward Beecher, were more concerned with morality than with political party politics, and felt Cleveland was a kindred soul who would promote civil service reform and fight for efficiency in authorities. However, even equally the Democrats gained support from the Mugwumps, they lost some blue-collar workers to the Greenback-Labor party, led past Benjamin F. Butler, Blaine's antagonist from their early on days in the House.

After the ballot, the term "Mugwump" survived for more than than a decade equally an epithet for a party bolter in American politics. Many Mugwumps became Democrats or remained Independents; most connected to support reform well into the twentieth century.

Bernard Gilliam'due south "Phryne before the Chicago Tribunal": This 1884 drawing in Puck magazine ridicules Blaine equally the tattooed man, with many indelible scandals. The cartoon image is a parody of Phryne before the Areopagus, an 1861 painting past French artist Jean-Léon Gérôme.

The Election

Both candidates believed that the states of New York, New Jersey, Indiana, and Connecticut would determine the election. In New York, Blaine received less support than he anticipated when Arthur and Conkling, still powerful in the New York Republican party, failed to actively campaign for him. Blaine hoped that he would have more than support from Irish Americans than Republicans typically did. While the Irish were mainly a Democratic constituency in the nineteenth century, Blaine'due south mother was Irish Catholic, and he believed his career-long opposition to the British government would resonate with the Irish. Blaine'southward hope for Irish defections to the Republican standard were dashed late in the campaign when i of his supporters, Samuel D. Burchard, gave a speech denouncing the Democrats equally the party of "Rum, Romanism, and Rebellion." The Democrats spread the word of this insult in the days before the election, and Cleveland narrowly won all four of the swing states, including New York by slightly more than ane,000 votes. While the popular vote full was close, with Cleveland winning by but one-quarter of a percentage, the electoral votes gave Cleveland a bulk of 219 to 182.

Cleveland's Presidency

Soon after taking function, President Grover Cleveland was faced with filling all of the authorities jobs for which the president had the ability of appointment. These jobs were typically filled under the spoils organization, but Cleveland announced that he would not fire any Republican who was doing his job well. Nor would he appoint anyone solely on the basis of political party service. Cleveland also used his appointment powers to reduce the number of federal employees, as many departments had become bloated with political timeservers.

Afterward in his term, Cleveland replaced more of the partisan Republican officeholders with Democrats. While some of his decisions were influenced past party concerns, more of Cleveland's appointments were decided by merit alone. Cleveland also reformed other parts of the authorities. In 1887, he signed an act creating the Interstate Commerce Commission. He also modernized the navy and canceled construction contracts that had resulted in inferior ships. Cleveland angered railroad investors by ordering an investigation of western lands they held by government grant.

Cleveland and Tariff Reform

The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the " McKinley Tariff," was an act of the U.S. Congress framed by Representative William McKinley that became constabulary on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to nigh 50 percent, an act designed to protect domestic industries from strange contest. Protectionism, a tactic supported past Republicans, was fiercely debated past politicians and condemned by Democrats.

The tariff was not well received by Americans, who suffered a steep increment in the cost of products. In the 1890 ballot, Republicans House seats went from 166 to simply 88. McKinley, the human activity'south framer and defender, was and so assassinated. In the 1892 presidential ballot, Harrison was soundly defeated by Grover Cleveland, and the Senate, House, and presidency were all under Democratic command. Lawmakers immediately started drafting new tariff legislation.

Cleveland'due south stance on the tariff was that of almost Democrats: The tariff ought to be reduced. American tariffs had been high since the Civil State of war, and by the 1880s, the tariff brought in so much revenue that the government was running a surplus. Later on reversing the Harrison administration's silver policy, Cleveland sought side by side to contrary the furnishings of the McKinley tariff. What would become the Wilson-Gorman Tariff Deed was introduced by W Virginian Representative William L. Wilson in Dec 1893. After lengthy debate, the bill passed the House past a considerable margin. The bill proposed moderate down revisions in the tariff, particularly on raw materials. The shortfall in revenue was to exist made up past an income revenue enhancement of 2 percentage on income higher up $four,000, ($103,000 U.S. dollars in present terms).

The bill was next considered in the Senate, where opposition was stronger. Cleveland faced opposition from primal Democrats, led by Arthur Pue Gorman of Maryland, who insisted on more protection for their states' industries than the Wilson beak immune. Some voted partly out of a personal enmity toward Cleveland. By the time the neb passed the Senate, it had more than 600 amendments fastened that nullified most of the reforms. The Sugar Trust in item lobbied for changes that favored change at the expense of the consumer. Cleveland was outraged with the final bill, and denounced it every bit a disgraceful production of the command of the Senate by trusts and business interests. Even so, he believed it was an improvement over the McKinley tariff and immune information technology to go police force without his signature.

Republican Reform Under Harrison

Ceremonious service reform, pension reform, and the "Billion Dollar Congress" characterized the Harrison administration's Republican reforms.

Learning Objectives

Outline the legislative achievements of the Benjamin Harrison assistants

Key Takeaways

Key Points

• In the election of 1888, Republican Benjamin Harrison narrowly defeated incumbent Grover Cleveland.
• Civil service reform was a prominent issue post-obit Harrison's election. Nevertheless, he did little to advance civil service reform during his time in office, fearing Congressional conflict.
• Harrison enacted the Dependent and Disability Pension Act in 1890, granting pensions to all disabled Civil State of war veterans regardless of the cause of their disability.
• The 51st Congress was nicknamed the "Billion Dollar Congress" for its massive spending. This Congress was likewise responsible for a number of pieces of landmark legislation, many of which expanded the authority of the federal regime.
• 2 significant pieces of legislation that would have removed some of the voting barriers faced by African Americans failed to proceeds Congress's blessing.

Key Terms

• Billion Dollar Congress: The 51st U.Southward. Congress, criticized for its lavish spending, that met from 1889 to 1891, during the first ii years of the administration of President Benjamin Harrison.
• Dependent and Disability Pension Act: A federal deed that provided pensions for all Matrimony Regular army veterans who had served xc days and who were unable to perform manual labor, whether or not the cause of their disability was related to their service in the American Ceremonious State of war. The human action also provided pensions for minors, dependent parents, and widows of veterans.
• Pendleton Human action: A federal law established in 1883 that stipulated that government jobs should be awarded on the footing of merit.

The 1888 ballot for president of the The states saw Grover Cleveland of New York, the incumbent president and a Democrat, try to secure a second term against the Republican nominee, Benjamin Harrison, a former U.Southward. Senator from Indiana. Tariff policy was the principal issue in the election. Harrison took the side of industrialists and factory workers who wanted to go along tariffs high, while Cleveland strenuously denounced loftier tariffs as unfair to consumers. His opposition to Civil War pensions and inflated currency as well made enemies amidst veterans and farmers. On the other mitt, he held a strong hand in the South and border states, and appealed to former Republican Mugwumps. The economy was prosperous and the nation was at peace, but Cleveland lost reelection in the Electoral Higher, even though he won a plurality of the popular vote past a narrow margin. Harrison was sworn into part on March 4, 1889.

Civil Service Reform

Civil service reform was a prominent consequence following Harrison'south election. Harrison had campaigned as a supporter of the merit system, as opposed to the spoils system. Although some U.S. civil service jobs had been classified under the Pendleton Human activity by previous administrations, Harrison spent much of his get-go months in office deciding on political appointments.

Congress was widely divided on the issue, and Harrison was reluctant to address the issue because he feared alienating either side. The issue became a political football of the time and was immortalized in a cartoon captioned, "What can I do when both parties insist on kick?" Harrison appointed Theodore Roosevelt and Hugh Smith Thompson, both reformers, to the Ceremonious Service Commission, but otherwise did lilliputian to further the reform crusade.

Alimony Reform

The "Billion Dollar Congress": In this cartoon from Puck, Benjamin Harrison and the "Billion Dollar Congress" are portrayed as wasting the surplus.

Harrison quickly saw the enactment of the Dependent and Disability Pension Act in 1890, a cause he had championed while in Congress. In addition to providing pensions to disabled Civil War veterans, regardless of the cause of their disability, the act depleted some of the troublesome federal budget surplus. Alimony expenditures reached $135 1000000 nether Harrison, the largest expenditure of its kind at that point in American history, a trouble exacerbated by Pension Agency commissioner James R. Tanner'southward expansive interpretation of the pension laws.

The 51st Congress

The 51st U.S. Congress, referred to by some critics every bit the "Billion Dollar Congress," was a meeting of the legislative branch of the U.Southward. federal government that met in Washington, D.C., from March 4, 1889, to March iv, 1891, during the beginning two years of the assistants of President Benjamin Harrison.

Legislative Achievements

The 51st Congress was responsible for a number of pieces of landmark legislation, many of which expanded the authority of the federal government. Emboldened past their success in the elections of 1888, the Republicans enacted virtually their entire platform during their first 303-twenty-four hour period session, including a measure that provided American Civil War veterans with generous pensions and expanded the list of eligible recipients to include noncombatants and the children of veterans. Grover Cleveland had vetoed a similar pecker in 1887. The 51st Congress was criticized as the "Billion Dollar Congress'" for its lavish spending, and for this reason, information technology incited drastic reversals in public support that led to Cleveland's reelection in 1892.

Economic and Trade Legislation

Other of import legislation passed into police by the Congress included the McKinley tariff, authored past representative, and time to come president, William McKinley. The Sherman Antitrust Human activity, which prohibited business combinations that restricted trade, and the Sherman Silver Buy Act, which required the U.S. government to mint silver were both authored by Senator John Sherman.

National Forests

The 51st Congress also was responsible for passing the Land Revision Act of 1891, which created the national forests. Harrison authorized America'southward first woods reserve in Yellowstone, Wyoming, the same year.

Pregnant Legislation That Failed

Other bills were discussed but failed to pass, including ii significant pieces of legislation focused on ensuring African Americans the right to vote. Henry Cabot Lodge sponsored a so-called Guild Bill that would have established federal supervision of congressional elections and so every bit to forestall the disfranchisement of southern blacks. Henry Westward. Blair sponsored the Blair Education Bill, which advocated the use of federal aid for pedagogy in order to frustrate Southern whites employing literacy tests to forbid blacks from registering to vote.

What Actions Did Congress Take To Reform The Civil Service? Why Were These Steps Necessary?,

Source: https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-ushistory/chapter/civil-service-reform/

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