332 CHAPTER 11|THE BUREAUCRACY
powerful incentive with which to convince people to work for the party—a partic-
ularly important tool for Jackson, as his campaign organization was at that time
the largest ever organized.
The challenge facing the spoils system was ensuring that these government
employees, who often lacked experience in their new fi elds, could actually carry out
their jobs. The solution was to develop procedures so that these employees knew
exactly what to do even if they had no experience or training.^18 These instructions
became one of the earliest uses of standard operating procedures. They ensured
that the government could function even if many employees had been hired in
reward for political work rather than because of their qualifi cations.^19
As America expanded, so did the federal government, which saw an almost
eightfold increase in the bureaucracy between 1816 and the beginning of the Civil
War in 1861. This growth did not refl ect a fundamental change in what the gov-
ernment did; in fact, much of the increase came in areas such as the Post Offi ce,
which needed to serve a geographically larger nation—and, of course, to provide
“spoils” for party workers in the form of government jobs.^20 Even by the end of the
Civil War, the federal government still had very little involvement in the lives of
ordinary Americans. State and local governments provided services such as edu-
cation, public works, and welfare benefi ts, if they were provided at all. The federal
government’s role in daily life was limited to mail delivery, collecting import and
export taxes, and a few other areas.Building a New American State: The Progressive Era
Changes in the second half of the nineteenth century transformed America’s
bureaucracy.^21 This transformation began after the Civil War, but the most sig-
nifi cant changes occurred during the Progressive Era, 1890–1920. Many laws and
executive actions increased the government’s regulatory power during this period,
including the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906,
the Meat Inspection Act, expansion of the Interstate Commerce Commission, and
various conservation measures.^22 Now the federal government had an indirect
impact on several aspects of everyday life: when Americans bought food or other
products, went to work, or traveled, the choices available to them were shaped by
the actions of federal bureaucrats.
These developments were matched by a fundamental change in the federal
bureaucracy following passage of the 1883 Pendleton Civil Service Act. This mea-
sure created the federal civil service, in which the merit system (qualifi cations,
not political connections) became the basis for hiring and promoting bureaucrats.^23
In other words, when a new president took offi ce, he could not replace members
of the civil service with his own campaign workers. Initially, only about 13,000
federal jobs acquired civil service protections, but subsequently many additional
positions were incorporated into the civil service, to the point that today virtu-
ally all full-time, permanent government employees have civil service protection.
These reforms created a bureaucracy in which people could build a career in gov-
ernment without having to fear being fi red when a new president or Congress took
offi ce.^24
When civil service reforms were adopted, their impact on party organizations
was well understood. As one New York City machine politician, George Washing-THIS CARTOON OF A MONUMENT TO
President Andrew Jackson riding
a pig decries his involvement in
the spoils system, which allowed
politicians to dole out government
service jobs in return for political
support.
federal civil service A system
created by the 1883 Pendleton Civil
Service Act in which bureaucrats are
hired on the basis of merit rather
than political connections.