Civil Service Reform under Hayes

President Hayes anticipated making solid progress in combating the entrenched spoils system. Since he had pledged to serve only a single term, he was free to employ merit rather than party affiliation as a means to hire federal civil servants.

In compliance with the terms of the Compromise of 1877, Hayes appointed a Democrat, David M. Key, to his cabinet. Key was named postmaster general, a position that offered ample opportunities for the dispensation of patronage.

Hayes further aroused the ire of his own party by issuing an executive order that prohibited federal civil servants from engaging in political activities.

More than any other action, it was Hayes' decision to clean out the New York Customhouse that alienated the president from his party. The port officials in New York City were loyal supporters of Roscoe Conkling, head of the Stalwart faction of the Republican Party and chief dispenser of patronage in his state. Conkling was outraged when his chief lieutenant, port collector Chester A. Arthur, was dismissed from his position.

Actual civil service reform legislation was defeated in Congress, but Hayes won the admiration of many for his efforts to address a serious problem.

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Civil Service Reform
... President Hayes showed active sympathy with the movement for Civil Service reform. A commission had been appointed in 1871, whose report urged that fitness, and not political favoritism, should be the ground of appointment to government offices.
^{http://www.publicbookshelf.com/public_html/The_Great_Republic_By_the_M ...}

Pre-Civil War Reform
... America's Pre-Civil War Reformers An overview and interpretation of the major reforms of the era, including abolition, temperance and women's rights. Recommended film: Amistad Steven Spielberg’s flawed recreation of the 1839 incident in which ...
^{http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/modules/precivilwar/index.cfm}

Reformers
Reformers "We know that there is going to have to be accommodations to give us our basic civil rights. We know that. We understand that. There is a cost involved. But isn't there also a cost involved with us not being able to exercise our rights ...
^{http://www.humboldt1.com/~history/rogerson/reformers.htm}

The Hayes AdministrationCivil Service Reform under Hayes

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The Hayes Administration
Civil Service Reform under Hayes