Spoils System vs. Merit System Blog

The development of the bureaucracy began with the Spoil System. This system was first used by Andrew Jackson. Andrew Jackson’s cabinet consisted of friends he hired for the job. Some of these people may have had previous experience in the field and some may have not. Over the years this has changed. Since then the bureaucracy has greatly grown and the way people are hired has also changed. The merit system began in the 1880’s after president Garfield was killed. He was because his killer was not given a government job. Now the Merit System is used. People have to qualify for a certain job or make it up in the ranks to get to higher positions.

The spoils system can still be found in our American government today. According to Dino Grandoni writer for The Wire, who wrote an article titled, “ Obama Likes the Spoils System as Much as Any President”, Obama has used the spoils system. People who raised money for his campaign have been guaranteed a government job, other presidents have done this; such as Bush. “ Obama has doled out ambassadorships, at the same rate as the Bush administration” (Grandoni 1).