While the Democratic party lost the Civil War, it won the battle to control the United States Civil Service [[bureaucracy]].<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/trump-vs-the-deep-state Trump vs the Deep State], Evan Osnos, ''[[The New Yorker]]'', May 14, 2018</ref> Since the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and passage of the 1882 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, the Democratic party is no longer dependent on the spoils system and winning elections to maintain its power. | While the Democratic party lost the Civil War, it won the battle to control the United States Civil Service [[bureaucracy]].<ref>[https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2018/05/21/trump-vs-the-deep-state Trump vs the Deep State], Evan Osnos, ''[[The New Yorker]]'', May 14, 2018</ref> Since the end of Reconstruction in 1876 and passage of the 1882 Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, the Democratic party is no longer dependent on the spoils system and winning elections to maintain its power. |