{"id":1575,"date":"2021-07-09T16:25:52","date_gmt":"2021-07-09T16:25:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=1575"},"modified":"2022-08-03T14:59:24","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T14:59:24","slug":"political-patronage-in-the-gilded-age","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/chapter\/political-patronage-in-the-gilded-age\/","title":{"raw":"Political Patronage in the Gilded Age","rendered":"Political Patronage in the Gilded Age"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul class=\"im_orderedlist\">\r\n \t<li>Explain the difference between the spoils system and civil service, and discuss the importance of this issue during the Gilded Age<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nOnce elected, presidents had barely enough power to repay the political favors they owed to the individuals who ensured their narrow victories in cities and regions around the country.\u00a0Upon his election to the presidency in 1888, Benjamin Harrison remarked to his ally Mark Hanna that \"providence has given us the victory.\" Hanna thereafter muttered to a crony, \u201cProvidence hadn\u2019t a damn thing to do with it. A number of men were compelled to approach the penitentiary to make him president.\u201d[footnote]Heather Cox Richardson, T<em>o Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party.<\/em> New York: Basic Books, 2014, 123.[\/footnote]\u00a0Their four years in office were spent repaying favors and managing the powerful relationships that put them in the White House. Everyday Americans were largely left on their own. Among the few political issues that presidents routinely addressed during this era were ones of patronage, tariffs, and the nation\u2019s monetary system.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignright\" width=\"260\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/884\/2015\/08\/23202913\/CNX_History_20_02_SpoilsSyst.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows Andrew Jackson riding a pig, which is walking over \u201cfraud,\u201d \u201cbribery,\u201d and \u201cspoils,\u201d and feeding on \u201cplunder.\u201d\" width=\"260\" height=\"394\" data-media-type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/> <strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. This political cartoon shows Andrew Jackson riding a pig, which is walking over \u201cfraud,\u201d \u201cbribery,\u201d and \u201cspoils,\u201d and feeding on \u201cplunder.\u201d[\/caption]\r\n\r\n<section id=\"fs-idm121643424\" data-depth=\"1\">\r\n<h2 data-type=\"title\">Patronage: The Spoils System vs. Civil Service<\/h2>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm131949216\">At the heart of each president\u2019s administration was the protection of the spoils system, that is, the power of the president to practice widespread political patronage. <strong>Patronage<\/strong>, in this case, took the form of the president naming his friends and supporters to various political posts. Given the close calls in presidential elections during the era, the maintenance of political machinery and repaying favors with patronage was important to all presidents, regardless of party affiliation. This had been the case since the advent of a two-party political system and universal male suffrage in the Jacksonian era. For example, upon assuming office in March 1829, President Jackson immediately swept employees from over nine hundred political offices, amounting to 10 percent of all federal appointments. Among the hardest hit was the U.S. Postal Service, which saw Jackson appoint his supporters and closest friends to over four hundred positions in the service.<\/p>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm87479136\">As can be seen in the table below, every single president elected from 1876 through 1892 won despite receiving less than 50 percent of the popular vote. This established a repetitive cycle of relatively weak presidents who owed many political favors, which could be repaid through one prerogative power: patronage. As a result, the spoils system allowed those with political influence to ascend to powerful positions within the government, regardless of their level of experience or skill, thus compounding both the inefficiency of government as well as enhancing the opportunities for corruption.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<table id=\"Table_20_01_PresVote\" summary=\"A table containing five columns and nineteen rows shows the popular and electoral votes for various presidential candidates from 1876-1896. From left to right, the first row\u2019s five cells contain the following labels: Year; Candidates; Popular Vote; Percentage; and Electoral Vote. The data in rows two through nineteen corresponds with these five labels, respectively. From left to right, row two reads: 1876; Rutherford B. Hayes; 4,034,132; 47.9%; and 185. Row three, which also covers 1876, reads: Samuel Tilden; 4,286,808; 50.9%; and 184. Row four, which also covers 1876, reads: Others; 97,709; 1.2%; and 0. Row five reads: 1880; James Garfield; 4,453,337; 48.3%; and 214. Row six, which also covers 1880, reads: Winfield Hancock; 4,444,267; 48.2%; and 155. Row seven, which also covers 1880, reads: Others; 319,806; 3.5%; and 0. Row eight reads: 1884; Grover Cleveland; 4,914,482; 48.8%; and 219. Row nine, which also covers 1884, reads: James Blaine; 4,856,903; 48.3%; and 182. Row ten, which also covers 1884, reads: Others; 288,660; 2.9%; and 0. Row eleven reads: 1888; Benjamin Harrison; 5,443,663; 47.8%; and 233. Row twelve, which also covers 1888, reads: Grover Cleveland; 5,538,163; 48.6%; and 168. Row thirteen, which also covers 1888, reads: Others; 407,050; 3.6%; and 0. Row fourteen reads: 1892; Grover Cleveland; 5,553,898; 46.0%; and 277. Row fifteen, which also covers 1892, reads: Benjamin Harrison; 5,190,799; 43.0%; and 145. Row sixteen, which also covers 1892, reads: Others; 1,323,330; 11.0%; and 22. Row seventeen reads: 1896; William McKinley; 7,112,138; 51.0%; and 271. Row eighteen, which also covers 1896, reads: William Jennings Bryan; 6,510,807; 46.7%; and 176. Row nineteen, which also covers 1896, reads: Others; 315,729; 2.3%; and 0.\"><caption><span data-type=\"title\">U.S. Presidential Election Results (1876\u20131896)<\/span><\/caption>\r\n<thead>\r\n<tr>\r\n<th>Year<\/th>\r\n<th>Candidates<\/th>\r\n<th>Popular Vote<\/th>\r\n<th>Percentage<\/th>\r\n<th>Electoral Vote<\/th>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/thead>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1876<\/td>\r\n<td>Rutherford B. Hayes<\/td>\r\n<td>4,034,132<\/td>\r\n<td>47.9%<\/td>\r\n<td>185<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Samuel Tilden<\/td>\r\n<td>4,286,808<\/td>\r\n<td>50.9%<\/td>\r\n<td>184<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>97,709<\/td>\r\n<td>1.2%<\/td>\r\n<td>0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1880<\/td>\r\n<td>James Garfield<\/td>\r\n<td>4,453,337<\/td>\r\n<td>48.3%<\/td>\r\n<td>214<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Winfield Hancock<\/td>\r\n<td>4,444,267<\/td>\r\n<td>48.2%<\/td>\r\n<td>155<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>319,806<\/td>\r\n<td>3.5%<\/td>\r\n<td>0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1884<\/td>\r\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\r\n<td>4,914,482<\/td>\r\n<td>48.8%<\/td>\r\n<td>219<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>James Blaine<\/td>\r\n<td>4,856,903<\/td>\r\n<td>48.3%<\/td>\r\n<td>182<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>288,660<\/td>\r\n<td>2.9%<\/td>\r\n<td>0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1888<\/td>\r\n<td>Benjamin Harrison<\/td>\r\n<td>5,443,663<\/td>\r\n<td>47.8%<\/td>\r\n<td>233<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\r\n<td>5,538,163<\/td>\r\n<td>48.6%<\/td>\r\n<td>168<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>407,050<\/td>\r\n<td>3.6%<\/td>\r\n<td>0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1892<\/td>\r\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\r\n<td>5,553,898<\/td>\r\n<td>46.0%<\/td>\r\n<td>277<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Benjamin Harrison<\/td>\r\n<td>5,190,799<\/td>\r\n<td>43.0%<\/td>\r\n<td>145<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>1,323,330<\/td>\r\n<td>11.0%<\/td>\r\n<td>22<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td>1896<\/td>\r\n<td>William McKinley<\/td>\r\n<td>7,112,138<\/td>\r\n<td>51.0%<\/td>\r\n<td>271<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>William Jennings Bryan<\/td>\r\n<td>6,510,807<\/td>\r\n<td>46.7%<\/td>\r\n<td>176<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr>\r\n<td><\/td>\r\n<td>Others<\/td>\r\n<td>315,729<\/td>\r\n<td>2.3%<\/td>\r\n<td>0<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<h2><strong>Hayes and the Difficulty of Reform<\/strong><\/h2>\r\nAt the same time, a movement emerged in support of reforming the practice of political appointments. As early as 1872, civil service reformers gathered to create the <strong>Liberal Republican Party<\/strong> in an effort to unseat incumbent President Grant. Led by several midwestern Republican leaders and newspaper editors, this\u00a0reform-minded splinter party\u00a0actually joined forces with the Democrats for that election.\u00a0The strangeness of this collaboration was highlighted in the choice of Horace Greeley\u2014an ardent abolitionist and frequent critic of the Democrats\u2014as the nominee.\u00a0The party called for a \u201cthorough reform of the civil service as one the most pressing necessities\u201d facing the nation. Although easily defeated in the election that followed, the work of the Liberal Republican Party set the stage for an even stronger push for patronage reform.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"390\"]<img src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/884\/2015\/08\/23202914\/CNX_History_20_02_Conkling.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows Roscoe Conkling playing a popular puzzle game of the day with the heads of potential Republican presidential candidates. The caption reads \u201cThe Great Presidential Puzzle.\u201d\" width=\"390\" height=\"293\" data-media-type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/> <strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. This cartoon shows Roscoe Conkling playing a popular puzzle game of the day with the heads of potential Republican presidential candidates, illustrating his control over the picks of the party.[\/caption]\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm85611504\">Although personally honest, Hayes was\u00a0ill-prepared to\u00a0clean house, despite his own stated preference for a new civil service system. His own narrow victory indebted him to Republican Party operatives who made his victory possible.\u00a0Two such Republicans\u00a0attempted to use this leverage to\u00a0control the president. The first was Roscoe Conkling, a Republican senator from New York and leader of the <strong>Stalwarts<\/strong>, a group that\u00a0made frequent and unapologetic use\u00a0of the current spoils system.\u00a0As a faithful supporter of\u00a0former President Grant, Conkling had no sympathy for some of Hayes\u2019 early appeals for civil service reform. The other was James G. Blaine, a Republican senator from Maine and leader of the <strong>Half-Breeds<\/strong>. The Half-Breeds, who received their derogatory nickname from Stalwart supporters who considered Blaine\u2019s group to be only \u201chalf-Republican,\u201d advocated for some measure of civil service reform.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<h3>Civil Service Reform<\/h3>\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm101882800\">With his efforts towards ensuring African American civil rights stymied by a Democratic Congress, and his decision to halt the coinage of silver adding to the pressures of the economic <span class=\"no-emphasis\" data-type=\"term\">Panic of 1873<\/span>, Hayes failed to achieve any significant legislation during his presidency. However, he did make a few overtures toward civil service reform.<\/p>\r\nFirst, he adopted a new patronage rule, which held that a person appointed to an office could be dismissed only in the interest of efficient government operation but not for overtly political reasons. Second, he declared that party leaders could have no official say in political appointments, although Conkling sought to continue his influence. Finally, he decided that government appointees were ineligible to manage election campaigns. Although not sweeping reforms, these were steps in a civil service direction.\r\n<p id=\"fs-idm56085040\">Hayes\u2019 first target in his meager reform effort was to remove Chester A. Arthur, a strong Conkling man, from his post as head of the New York City Customs House. Arthur had been notorious for using his post as customs collector to gain political favors for Conkling. When Hayes forcibly removed him from the position, even Half-Breeds questioned the wisdom of the move and began to distance themselves from Hayes.\u00a0Hayes had already committed to serving only one term. As his political support ebbed and as Southern Democrats took control of state governments, the major issues of his time in office remained unresolved.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/db595e28-9220-4b41-939e-b08a7338d153\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-info\">\r\n<h3>Review Question<\/h3>\r\n<section>Why were U.S. presidents (with few exceptions) so adamant about protecting the spoils system of patronage during the late nineteenth century?\r\n[reveal-answer q=\"713735\"]Show Answer[\/reveal-answer]\r\n[hidden-answer a=\"713735\"]Politics of the day were fiercely fought and won with razor-thin margins. While presidents may have wanted to see the system change, few were in a position to effect such change. They owed their presidencies to the various party leaders and political operatives who had gotten them there, and they were expected to repay the favors with political positions. Any candidate who spoke out firmly against patronage virtually guaranteed that he would not receive the support of local or regional politicians, or machine bosses. Without such support, a candidate\u2019s chances of being elected were virtually nonexistent. Therefore, they continued to work within the system.[\/hidden-answer]<\/section><\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\r\n<strong>patronage<\/strong>: a presidential practice, begun by Andrew Jackson, of dispensing federal offices as a reward to one's supporters\r\n\r\n<strong>Half-Breeds:\u00a0<\/strong>the group of Republicans led by James G. Blaine, named because they supported some measure of civil service reform and were thus considered to be only \u201chalf Republican\u201d\r\n\r\n<strong>Stalwarts:\u00a0<\/strong>the group of Republicans led by Roscoe Conkling who strongly supported the continuation of the patronage system\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"im_orderedlist\">\n<li>Explain the difference between the spoils system and civil service, and discuss the importance of this issue during the Gilded Age<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Once elected, presidents had barely enough power to repay the political favors they owed to the individuals who ensured their narrow victories in cities and regions around the country.\u00a0Upon his election to the presidency in 1888, Benjamin Harrison remarked to his ally Mark Hanna that &#8220;providence has given us the victory.&#8221; Hanna thereafter muttered to a crony, \u201cProvidence hadn\u2019t a damn thing to do with it. A number of men were compelled to approach the penitentiary to make him president.\u201d<a class=\"footnote\" title=\"Heather Cox Richardson, To Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party. New York: Basic Books, 2014, 123.\" id=\"return-footnote-1575-1\" href=\"#footnote-1575-1\" aria-label=\"Footnote 1\"><sup class=\"footnote\">[1]<\/sup><\/a>\u00a0Their four years in office were spent repaying favors and managing the powerful relationships that put them in the White House. Everyday Americans were largely left on their own. Among the few political issues that presidents routinely addressed during this era were ones of patronage, tariffs, and the nation\u2019s monetary system.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 270px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/884\/2015\/08\/23202913\/CNX_History_20_02_SpoilsSyst.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows Andrew Jackson riding a pig, which is walking over \u201cfraud,\u201d \u201cbribery,\u201d and \u201cspoils,\u201d and feeding on \u201cplunder.\u201d\" width=\"260\" height=\"394\" data-media-type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 1<\/strong>. This political cartoon shows Andrew Jackson riding a pig, which is walking over \u201cfraud,\u201d \u201cbribery,\u201d and \u201cspoils,\u201d and feeding on \u201cplunder.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section id=\"fs-idm121643424\" data-depth=\"1\">\n<h2 data-type=\"title\">Patronage: The Spoils System vs. Civil Service<\/h2>\n<p id=\"fs-idm131949216\">At the heart of each president\u2019s administration was the protection of the spoils system, that is, the power of the president to practice widespread political patronage. <strong>Patronage<\/strong>, in this case, took the form of the president naming his friends and supporters to various political posts. Given the close calls in presidential elections during the era, the maintenance of political machinery and repaying favors with patronage was important to all presidents, regardless of party affiliation. This had been the case since the advent of a two-party political system and universal male suffrage in the Jacksonian era. For example, upon assuming office in March 1829, President Jackson immediately swept employees from over nine hundred political offices, amounting to 10 percent of all federal appointments. Among the hardest hit was the U.S. Postal Service, which saw Jackson appoint his supporters and closest friends to over four hundred positions in the service.<\/p>\n<p id=\"fs-idm87479136\">As can be seen in the table below, every single president elected from 1876 through 1892 won despite receiving less than 50 percent of the popular vote. This established a repetitive cycle of relatively weak presidents who owed many political favors, which could be repaid through one prerogative power: patronage. As a result, the spoils system allowed those with political influence to ascend to powerful positions within the government, regardless of their level of experience or skill, thus compounding both the inefficiency of government as well as enhancing the opportunities for corruption.<\/p>\n<table id=\"Table_20_01_PresVote\" summary=\"A table containing five columns and nineteen rows shows the popular and electoral votes for various presidential candidates from 1876-1896. From left to right, the first row\u2019s five cells contain the following labels: Year; Candidates; Popular Vote; Percentage; and Electoral Vote. The data in rows two through nineteen corresponds with these five labels, respectively. From left to right, row two reads: 1876; Rutherford B. Hayes; 4,034,132; 47.9%; and 185. Row three, which also covers 1876, reads: Samuel Tilden; 4,286,808; 50.9%; and 184. Row four, which also covers 1876, reads: Others; 97,709; 1.2%; and 0. Row five reads: 1880; James Garfield; 4,453,337; 48.3%; and 214. Row six, which also covers 1880, reads: Winfield Hancock; 4,444,267; 48.2%; and 155. Row seven, which also covers 1880, reads: Others; 319,806; 3.5%; and 0. Row eight reads: 1884; Grover Cleveland; 4,914,482; 48.8%; and 219. Row nine, which also covers 1884, reads: James Blaine; 4,856,903; 48.3%; and 182. Row ten, which also covers 1884, reads: Others; 288,660; 2.9%; and 0. Row eleven reads: 1888; Benjamin Harrison; 5,443,663; 47.8%; and 233. Row twelve, which also covers 1888, reads: Grover Cleveland; 5,538,163; 48.6%; and 168. Row thirteen, which also covers 1888, reads: Others; 407,050; 3.6%; and 0. Row fourteen reads: 1892; Grover Cleveland; 5,553,898; 46.0%; and 277. Row fifteen, which also covers 1892, reads: Benjamin Harrison; 5,190,799; 43.0%; and 145. Row sixteen, which also covers 1892, reads: Others; 1,323,330; 11.0%; and 22. Row seventeen reads: 1896; William McKinley; 7,112,138; 51.0%; and 271. Row eighteen, which also covers 1896, reads: William Jennings Bryan; 6,510,807; 46.7%; and 176. Row nineteen, which also covers 1896, reads: Others; 315,729; 2.3%; and 0.\">\n<caption><span data-type=\"title\">U.S. Presidential Election Results (1876\u20131896)<\/span><\/caption>\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Year<\/th>\n<th>Candidates<\/th>\n<th>Popular Vote<\/th>\n<th>Percentage<\/th>\n<th>Electoral Vote<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>1876<\/td>\n<td>Rutherford B. Hayes<\/td>\n<td>4,034,132<\/td>\n<td>47.9%<\/td>\n<td>185<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Samuel Tilden<\/td>\n<td>4,286,808<\/td>\n<td>50.9%<\/td>\n<td>184<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>97,709<\/td>\n<td>1.2%<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1880<\/td>\n<td>James Garfield<\/td>\n<td>4,453,337<\/td>\n<td>48.3%<\/td>\n<td>214<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Winfield Hancock<\/td>\n<td>4,444,267<\/td>\n<td>48.2%<\/td>\n<td>155<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>319,806<\/td>\n<td>3.5%<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1884<\/td>\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\n<td>4,914,482<\/td>\n<td>48.8%<\/td>\n<td>219<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>James Blaine<\/td>\n<td>4,856,903<\/td>\n<td>48.3%<\/td>\n<td>182<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>288,660<\/td>\n<td>2.9%<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1888<\/td>\n<td>Benjamin Harrison<\/td>\n<td>5,443,663<\/td>\n<td>47.8%<\/td>\n<td>233<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\n<td>5,538,163<\/td>\n<td>48.6%<\/td>\n<td>168<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>407,050<\/td>\n<td>3.6%<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1892<\/td>\n<td>Grover Cleveland<\/td>\n<td>5,553,898<\/td>\n<td>46.0%<\/td>\n<td>277<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Benjamin Harrison<\/td>\n<td>5,190,799<\/td>\n<td>43.0%<\/td>\n<td>145<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>1,323,330<\/td>\n<td>11.0%<\/td>\n<td>22<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>1896<\/td>\n<td>William McKinley<\/td>\n<td>7,112,138<\/td>\n<td>51.0%<\/td>\n<td>271<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>William Jennings Bryan<\/td>\n<td>6,510,807<\/td>\n<td>46.7%<\/td>\n<td>176<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td>Others<\/td>\n<td>315,729<\/td>\n<td>2.3%<\/td>\n<td>0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<h2><strong>Hayes and the Difficulty of Reform<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>At the same time, a movement emerged in support of reforming the practice of political appointments. As early as 1872, civil service reformers gathered to create the <strong>Liberal Republican Party<\/strong> in an effort to unseat incumbent President Grant. Led by several midwestern Republican leaders and newspaper editors, this\u00a0reform-minded splinter party\u00a0actually joined forces with the Democrats for that election.\u00a0The strangeness of this collaboration was highlighted in the choice of Horace Greeley\u2014an ardent abolitionist and frequent critic of the Democrats\u2014as the nominee.\u00a0The party called for a \u201cthorough reform of the civil service as one the most pressing necessities\u201d facing the nation. Although easily defeated in the election that followed, the work of the Liberal Republican Party set the stage for an even stronger push for patronage reform.<\/p>\n<div style=\"width: 400px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images-archive-read-only\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/884\/2015\/08\/23202914\/CNX_History_20_02_Conkling.jpg\" alt=\"A cartoon shows Roscoe Conkling playing a popular puzzle game of the day with the heads of potential Republican presidential candidates. The caption reads \u201cThe Great Presidential Puzzle.\u201d\" width=\"390\" height=\"293\" data-media-type=\"image\/jpeg\" \/><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Figure 2<\/strong>. This cartoon shows Roscoe Conkling playing a popular puzzle game of the day with the heads of potential Republican presidential candidates, illustrating his control over the picks of the party.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p id=\"fs-idm85611504\">Although personally honest, Hayes was\u00a0ill-prepared to\u00a0clean house, despite his own stated preference for a new civil service system. His own narrow victory indebted him to Republican Party operatives who made his victory possible.\u00a0Two such Republicans\u00a0attempted to use this leverage to\u00a0control the president. The first was Roscoe Conkling, a Republican senator from New York and leader of the <strong>Stalwarts<\/strong>, a group that\u00a0made frequent and unapologetic use\u00a0of the current spoils system.\u00a0As a faithful supporter of\u00a0former President Grant, Conkling had no sympathy for some of Hayes\u2019 early appeals for civil service reform. The other was James G. Blaine, a Republican senator from Maine and leader of the <strong>Half-Breeds<\/strong>. The Half-Breeds, who received their derogatory nickname from Stalwart supporters who considered Blaine\u2019s group to be only \u201chalf-Republican,\u201d advocated for some measure of civil service reform.<\/p>\n<h3>Civil Service Reform<\/h3>\n<p id=\"fs-idm101882800\">With his efforts towards ensuring African American civil rights stymied by a Democratic Congress, and his decision to halt the coinage of silver adding to the pressures of the economic <span class=\"no-emphasis\" data-type=\"term\">Panic of 1873<\/span>, Hayes failed to achieve any significant legislation during his presidency. However, he did make a few overtures toward civil service reform.<\/p>\n<p>First, he adopted a new patronage rule, which held that a person appointed to an office could be dismissed only in the interest of efficient government operation but not for overtly political reasons. Second, he declared that party leaders could have no official say in political appointments, although Conkling sought to continue his influence. Finally, he decided that government appointees were ineligible to manage election campaigns. Although not sweeping reforms, these were steps in a civil service direction.<\/p>\n<p id=\"fs-idm56085040\">Hayes\u2019 first target in his meager reform effort was to remove Chester A. Arthur, a strong Conkling man, from his post as head of the New York City Customs House. Arthur had been notorious for using his post as customs collector to gain political favors for Conkling. When Hayes forcibly removed him from the position, even Half-Breeds questioned the wisdom of the move and began to distance themselves from Hayes.\u00a0Hayes had already committed to serving only one term. As his political support ebbed and as Southern Democrats took control of state governments, the major issues of his time in office remained unresolved.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Try It<\/h3>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_db595e28-9220-4b41-939e-b08a7338d153\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/db595e28-9220-4b41-939e-b08a7338d153?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_db595e28-9220-4b41-939e-b08a7338d153\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"bcc-box bcc-info\">\n<h3>Review Question<\/h3>\n<section>Why were U.S. presidents (with few exceptions) so adamant about protecting the spoils system of patronage during the late nineteenth century?<\/p>\n<div class=\"qa-wrapper\" style=\"display: block\"><span class=\"show-answer collapsed\" style=\"cursor: pointer\" data-target=\"q713735\">Show Answer<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"q713735\" class=\"hidden-answer\" style=\"display: none\">Politics of the day were fiercely fought and won with razor-thin margins. While presidents may have wanted to see the system change, few were in a position to effect such change. They owed their presidencies to the various party leaders and political operatives who had gotten them there, and they were expected to repay the favors with political positions. Any candidate who spoke out firmly against patronage virtually guaranteed that he would not receive the support of local or regional politicians, or machine bosses. Without such support, a candidate\u2019s chances of being elected were virtually nonexistent. Therefore, they continued to work within the system.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Glossary<\/h3>\n<p><strong>patronage<\/strong>: a presidential practice, begun by Andrew Jackson, of dispensing federal offices as a reward to one&#8217;s supporters<\/p>\n<p><strong>Half-Breeds:\u00a0<\/strong>the group of Republicans led by James G. Blaine, named because they supported some measure of civil service reform and were thus considered to be only \u201chalf Republican\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stalwarts:\u00a0<\/strong>the group of Republicans led by Roscoe Conkling who strongly supported the continuation of the patronage system<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1575\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Modification, adaptation, and original content. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Mark Lempke for Lumen Learning. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>US History. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: OpenStax. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/openstaxcollege.org\/textbooks\/us-history\">http:\/\/openstaxcollege.org\/textbooks\/us-history<\/a>. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em>. <strong>License Terms<\/strong>: Access for free at https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/us-history\/pages\/1-introduction<\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section><hr class=\"before-footnotes clear\" \/><div class=\"footnotes\"><ol><li id=\"footnote-1575-1\">Heather Cox Richardson, T<em>o Make Men Free: A History of the Republican Party.<\/em> New York: Basic Books, 2014, 123. <a href=\"#return-footnote-1575-1\" class=\"return-footnote\" aria-label=\"Return to footnote 1\">&crarr;<\/a><\/li><\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"author":23592,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"US History\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"OpenStax\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/openstaxcollege.org\/textbooks\/us-history\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"Access for free at https:\/\/openstax.org\/books\/us-history\/pages\/1-introduction\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Modification, adaptation, and original content\",\"author\":\"Mark Lempke for Lumen Learning\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"47ce5e5c-6613-4f74-b5cb-6bfb08007ba1,3bf87318-4fcf-4110-af21-e60d7bdcf423","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1575","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":118,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1575","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23592"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1575\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9046,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1575\/revisions\/9046"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/118"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1575\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1575"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1575"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1575"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-ushistory2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1575"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}