The immediate impetus for ending patronage and introducing civil service reform was the assassination of President [[James Garfield]] by a disgruntled low level campaign worker who was by-passed and felt Garfield owed him a job. The spoils system was rife with [[corruption]] and [[cronyism]]. Under the spoils system when voters rebelled and elected the opposition, everyone in an incumbent political machine lost their government job. The see-saw wholesale turnover of government workers created instability in the institutions of government. | The immediate impetus for ending patronage and introducing civil service reform was the assassination of President [[James Garfield]] by a disgruntled low level campaign worker who was by-passed and felt Garfield owed him a job. The spoils system was rife with [[corruption]] and [[cronyism]]. Under the spoils system when voters rebelled and elected the opposition, everyone in an incumbent political machine lost their government job. The see-saw wholesale turnover of government workers created instability in the institutions of government. |