GOV 120 Chapter Notes - Chapter 1: Spoils System, Civil Service Retirement System, Merit System
Jack Warner
Government 120 - American Government
Textbook
Fall 2017
GE
Bureaucracy, what is it?
• people who work for the government- federal state or local
• informal definition- red tape- inflexibility of organizations
• organizational form- person at the top and several layers below them
• Why should you care?
• marriage, divorce, birth certificate, drivers license
• bureaucracy- serve the public
• The Bureaucracy
• History of the Bureaucracy
• Whig Theory-
• The Spoils System- government jobs were given to individuals who supported
political party/candidates
• Universalistic Politics- idea that create gov of impartial rules that apply equally to
everyone
• Garfield’s Assassination 1881
• The Pendleton Act (Civil Service Reform Act of 1883)- qualifications- gov
required to hire qualified individuals- take tests
• The Civil Service System (1883-present)
• administration lies outside the proper sphere or politics
• calls for neutral competence and expertise
• The Merit System
• New Way: Merit System
• advantages
• neutral competence
• disadvantages
• loss of accountability and flexibility
• red tape and perceived inefficiency
