I.

Introduction

Civil Service, name generally given to paid nonmilitary service in nonelective office in the executive branch of government. The term does not apply properly to service in the legislative branch or judicial branch, although in the United States some employees of these branches are subject to provisions of the Civil Service Act. In certain countries, notably the United Kingdom, the term civil service is used to denote only positions in the national government; in others, including France and the United States, the term is applied to governmental positions on all levels, from federal to municipal. Civil service employees in most modern countries are selected by competitive examination.

Until the second half of the 19th century, elected government officials in most countries regarded appointive posts under their jurisdiction as political prizes to be distributed among influential or faithful supporters. The first significant departure from this practice occurred in Britain in 1855, when examinations were conducted by government order among selected candidates for certain minor positions. The categories of jobs filled in this fashion were gradually extended, and in 1870 a policy of open competitive examinations for most posts in the British civil service was adopted.

The U.S. Constitution vests the president with extraordinary powers in the selection of executive department personnel, and George Washington set a precedent of appointing federal employees almost solely on the grounds of ability. His successor, John Adams, was similarly beyond reproach in exercising his appointive powers, until his last night in office. Fearing that Thomas Jefferson, the newly elected president, would appoint extremists among his Republican followers (see Democratic-Republican Party) to a number of offices recently established by Congress, Adams filled the offices with Federalists. These and other appointees of Adams were promptly dismissed from office by Jefferson.

By the time Andrew Jackson took office, merit figured only secondarily in executive department appointments. During Jackson's administration the policy of political patronage in federal employment was intensified, partly as a result of Jackson's belief that rotation of government jobs was an essentially democratic practice. For many years thereafter virtually all appointive positions in the executive branch were political plunder, belonging to the party in power. The abuses inherent in this system, which became known as the spoils system, were especially pronounced during the three decades following 1845. Washington, D.C., became the mecca of a multitude of federal office seekers.

Although Congress attempted to deal with the problem in 1853 by passing legislation requiring candidates for certain federal jobs to submit to examination, shortcomings in the provisions and administration of the law foredoomed it to failure. Another bill, directing the president to take remedial action, was passed in 1871. In that year, President Ulysses S. Grant appointed the Civil Service Commission, assigning it the task of drafting a code of hiring procedures. Congress withdrew its financial support, however, in 1873, before the Civil Service Commission could draw up a program.