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The Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act is a United States federal law passed by the 47th United States Congress and signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur on January 16, 1883. The act mandates that most positions within the federal government should be awarded on the basis of merit instead of political patronage.
Feb 8, 2022 · The act took its name from long-time reformer Senator George Hunt Pendleton of Ohio and was signed into law by President Chester A. Arthur, who had become an ardent reformer after Garfield’s assassination.
Only about 10 percent of the positions in the federal government were covered by the new law, but nearly every president after Chester A. Arthur, who signed the bill into law, broadened its scope. By 1980 more than 90 percent of federal employees were protected by the act.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
President Chester A. Arthur signed the Pendleton Civil Service Act into law on January 16, 1883. (1) The legislation was intended to guarantee the rights of all citizens to compete for federal jobs without preferential treatment given based on politics, race, religion or origin.
Jan 16, 2018 · On this day in 1883, President Chester Arthur signed into law the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act, which established the principle that federal jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit...
Dec 15, 2021 · He signed the Pendleton Act of 1883 – this put into motion the Civil Service Reform for which Hayes had tried to press, and ended the patronage system which had essentially built Arthur’s own career.
Following the assassination of President James Garfield in 1881 by a disgruntled job-seeker, public support grew for civil service reform. The new President, Chester Arthur, who had been Garfield's Vice-President, signed the Pendleton Act into law in 1883.
