Pendleton Civil Service Act
Since the beginning of the government, people gained and lost their jobs whenever a new president took office. These jobs were political pay-offs for people who supported them. Many people did not take their jobs too seriously because they knew they would be out of their office soon. As Henry Clay put it, government officials after an election are "like the inhabitants of Cairo when the plague breaks out; no one knows who is next to encounter the stroke of death." Over the years the flaws that were made and the problems that resulted became more obvious. After an election you could open a newspaper and find many advertisements, which offered government jobs that were filled before the election.
On January 16, 1883 the U.S. legislation established a law, which gave employment based on merit rather than on political party affiliation that leads to corruption in the government system. Widespread public demand for reform in the government was stirred after the Civil War by accusations of incompetence, corruption, and theft in federal departments. After a guy who was refused an office job that he was capable of assassinated President James A. Garfield in 1881, civil service reform became a leading issue in the elections of 1882. In January 1883, Congress passed a comprehensive civil service bill sponsored by Senator George H. Pendleton, providing for the open selection of government employees and guaranteeing the right of citizens to compete for federal jobs without regard to politics, religion, race, or national origin. The new law covered only about 10 percent of the positions in the federal government, but nearly every president after Chester A. Arthur, who signed the bill into law, broadened its scope. By 1980 more than 90 percent of federal employees were protected by the act.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act classified certain jobs, removed them from the ranks, and set up a Civil Service Commission to oversee a system based on merit and not political stance. The commission draws up the rules governing examinations for those positions that Congress places in the classified civil service.
Title VII under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was enacted on July 2nd, 1964 as a mitigation strategy to prohibit any form of discrimination on grounds of a person’s religion, sex, color, race or their national origin. The law was originally meant to solve the problem of discrimination witnessed during voter registration. It was also expected to solve discrimination present at workplaces and schools where there was widespread racial discrimination. However, the law has become an even more relevant tool and has seen to it that hiring and firing processes by many companies are adherent to it.
When Johnson took over the Presidency following the assassination of Kennedy, he was determined to push through the Great Society agenda. President Johnson used the recent death as a reason to quickly enact laws for social reform in memory of Kennedy. Despite Republican opposition, Johnson was able to get the Civil Rights Bill of 1964 passed through congress,
One of FDR’s first orders of business was to respond to the need of reforming the banking system. FDR created the Emergency Banking Act that shut down all banks across the US and only allowed them to reopen upon government inspection. This proved effective as Americans began to restore their trust in the banking system. The EBA also demonstrated how government power was expanding, as the program allowed the government to ignore states’ and businesses’ rights to shut down the banks. In Document G, John L. Lewis praises the Wagner Act, which was FDR’s response to the “widespread labor unrest”. The Wagner Act addressed the concerns of workers over their rights as union members and ability to collectively bargain. The act proved effective as labor unrest began to dwindle. FDR took this chance to once again increase the government’s power by creating the National Labor Relations Board. The NLRB enforced the terms of the Wagner Act. The Wagner Act changed the role of the government by implying that social justice was now also on the government’s agenda of what to provide to citizens, in addition to ...
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed soon after the milestone March on Washington. In the largest march ever held in the United States, people of all races and colors gathered together to show legislature that racism would no longer be acceptable in society. Title VII, the section which deals with discrimination in the workforce is one small part of the larger piece of legislation. Title VII, of the Civil Rights Act, quickly became the most important arbiter of rights under the new law (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2001). The workforce has drastically changed since the passage of the act. Women and minorities are engaged in employment now more than ever. With the passage of Title VII, the door was opened to prohibiting job discrimination and creating fairness in employment (Bennett-Alexander & Hartman, 2001). Soon after, protection against discrimination based on age and disability was provided.
The most affected part of the government is the Congress. New presidents can start giving the 3 branches of government jobs to make the country safer by-passing laws and making bills. Also, it helps many citizens. For example, business owners might create more jobs if they are able to pay less taxes.
In 1878, the Posse Comitatus Act was passed with the intention of limiting the use of the Military in the recent decisions regarding black freedmen and their ability to vote. Obviously, this act has a much broader purpose and application, but the original intent was as stated. Additionally, the creation of the act was somewhat founded in the way Americans felt about the use of the British military and the way they were used against Americans prior to our independence (Somerville, n.d.).
The Gilded age (1875-1900) was an era in history when rapid industrial growth was overseen by the government, which led to a dystopian idea of capitalism and a corrupt government. The political scene was dominated by small groups of political leaders who managed business and corporations. While predominantly an era of corruptness, the Gilded Age also sought the Progressive Era, which was an era of reformation of the United States. The passing of the Civil Service Act required people to take certain examination for governmental professions, in attempt to reprieve the corruption within the states. In addition, The Interstate Commerce Act attempted to end issues dealing with railroads, while the Sherman Antitrust Act reprimanded monopolies within
Teddy Roosevelt always believed that in order to be appointed to a public office, that appointment should be based on merit rather than patronage. In 1889, President Benjamin Harrison appointed Roosevelt to the four-man Civil Service Commission. This was to be the beginning of the execution of Roosevelt's ideas of reform. He wanted to ensure that all government appointments were made on the merit system. "Against nothing is fearless and specific criticism more urgently needed than against the spoils system,' which is the degradation of American politics" (TR "Duties"). Ro...
Throughout the Progressive Era, the Federal Government passed a great deal of legislation in efforts to ensure a safer and more efficient nation. The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 modified and strengthened previous policies passed in the Sherman
During Johnson’s presidency, the federal government significantly extended its domestic responsibilities in attempt to transform the nation to what Johnson called the “Great Society,” in which poverty and racial intolerance ceased to exist. A previously unsurpassed amount of legislation was passed during this time; numerous laws were passed to protect the environment, keep consumers safe, reduce unfairness in education, improve housing in urban areas, provide more assistance to the elderly with health care, and other policies to improve welfare. Johnson called for a “War on Poverty,” and directed more funds to help the poor; government spending towards the poor increased from six billion in 1964 to twenty-four and a half billion dollars in 1968. Not only did Johnson improve the American economy and greatly reduce poverty, but he also advocated for racial equality; he managed to get Congress to pass the Civil Rights Act of 1964, making segregation illegal in public accommodations/institutions. He also enacted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, prohibiting literacy tests in areas in which the amount of voters was under a certain number, which forced many southern states to allow more blacks to vote. As a result of his presidency, the poor and minorities enjoyed significant benefits from the more favorable legislations and more successful American legislation.
Communication and transportation were very limited in the early years of the government up until the mid-1900s, thus denying constant and consistent news coverage. With such little knowledge, the American people were not aware of everything occurring in the government. This lack of information caused misinformation and default agreement with leadership to be common among the average citizens. During the Kennedy and Eisenhower presidencie's, after the United States were on the come-up from the Great Depression and from winning a world war, there was an actual period of trust of the government. According to polls between 1958 and 1964 three-quarters of Americans believed they could trust the government in Washington to do what was right. In 1974, 36 percent of Americans said that they still trusted the government (Schneider).
The Civil Rights Act of 1964 was the catalyst in abolishing the separate but equal policies that had been a mainstay in our society. Though racial discrimination was the initial focal point, its enactment affected every race. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination in housing, education, employment, public accommodations and the receipt of federal funds based on certain discrimination factors such as race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age or religion. Title VII is the employment segment of the Civil Rights Act and is considered one of the most important aspects of legislation that has helped define the employment law practices in this country. Prior to Title VII, an employer could hire and fire an employee for any given reason. Title VII prohibits discrimination in hiring, firing, training, promotion, discipline or other workplace decisions. (Bennett-Alexander-Hartman, Fourth Edition, pp 85) Though it applies to everyone, its enactment was especially significant to women and minorities, who until its passage had limited recourse in harassment based discriminations in the workplace.
Initially, the Founders intended to have a limit on the amount of time any one person could serve. In the Articles of Confederation, a rotation in office system was described, so that no one person could remain in a position for decades on end. However, this was abandoned in the Constitution because it was deemed unnecessary. At the time of the nation’s founding, the occupation of “politician” did not exist. One could hold an office for a number of years, but it was not considered a career path. Originally, politicians were seen as making great sacrifices, because they stepped away from their family and primary jobs for a number of years to serve their country, before returning to their normal lives (Vance, 1994, p. 429). In the words of Founding Father Roger Sherman, “The representatives ought to return home and mix with the people. By remaining at the seat of the government, they will acquire the habits of the place, which might differ from those...
The civil rights act outlawed discrimination based on color, sex, and religion against any individuals. The civil rights act outlawed segregation in business such as theaters, restaurants, and hotels. The Title VII of the civil rights act model the Equal Employment Opportunity Commision to implement law(The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission).The civil rights act of 1964 is considered one of the crowning legislative achievement of the civil rights movement. Throughout the winter and spring, early 1964, Johnson applied his formidable legislative acumen and skills to push the bill through congress. On January 21, 1964, President Johnson met with with Clarence Mitchell and Joseph Rauh discuss legislative strategy( A Long Struggle for Freedom The Civil Rights Act of
Before this extensive form of the patronage system, appointments to government jobs were decided on the basis of fitness for office. This was first seen when George Washington included two skilled leaders of opposing parties in his cabinet, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It was not until the election of Andrew Jackson in 1829 that changed things for the worse for civil service. In his inauguration speech, Jackson declared the need to restore the federal government, which had been controlled by Democratic-Republicans since the beginning of the 19th century. Jackson was motivated by three principles to reform civil servic...