If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that every position in the U.S. government is awarded to the most qualified person available. When in our nation’s rich history can you think of a single time someone was appointed to a high-ranking position of power because they were a political ally to someone else in power?
Or try to envision a world in which a wealthy donor helped fund a political campaign and could be rewarded with status and titles from the elected politician. Surely that has never happened.
What’s more, that would be borderline illegal thanks to the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, signed into law in 1883 by President Chester Arthur.
Considering this is maybe the least believable act of legislation ever, you have to wonder how or why it passed in the first place, right? You can thank Charles Guiteau for that – he’s the guy who assassinated President Garfield in 1881.
What Is the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act?
Here’s the story: Everyone – and I mean everyone – believed that if you helped a guy get elected president (or, presumably, to a lesser but still-important elected position) you were entitled to a role commensurate with your level of help. This doesn’t sound crazy because it is very obviously what happens today – and also happened on Veep.
This was known as the spoils system. It was perhaps at its ugliest when President Andrew Jackson removed 919 officials from their positions upon his inauguration in 1829. He replaced them all with his own people. The people didn’t really like this, but you will be unpleasantly reminded that Congress doesn’t care what the people like or dislike, so despite growing social concerns, this was not addressed. However, when a president gets shot, Congress responds.
President James A. Garfield was shot by Charles Guiteau because Guiteau – who was not mentally well – believed he played a massive role in Garfield’s election and as such was owed a consulship. He originally said he ought to be sent to Vienna, but later said, “You know what? Paris is fine.” The office of Garfield gave him a solid “nah.” Guiteau got madder and madder and decided the only logical thing was to shoot the president.
The fallout was that Congress decided, “Hey, maybe letting people assume they deserve a high-ranking position for no good reason is bad” and they passed the Pendleton Act. It took the United States 94 years after the first federal meeting of Congress to decide that a meritocracy was a good idea.
If you’re reading this and thinking, “Okay, but this still happens all the time,” you’re right to an extent. The way this gets worked around is that while an insane, right-wing nutjob of a judge can be appointed to any court in the country during Trump’s presidency, that insane, right-wing nutjob of a judge technically has the requisite qualifications. But, of course, Trump also signed an executive order that tried to bypass the Pendleton Act right before the 2020 election and Biden rescinded it almost immediately after taking office.
The lesson, as always, is that the system is rigged and wildly unfair, even when it is legally obligated to be a meritocracy.
