Sunday, February 27, 2005; Page B04
Leave it to the ancient Chinese to think of it first. No, not fireworks, but the civil service -- the non-legislative, non-judicial, non-military branches of government that select their employees by competitive exam. In the United States, the civil service notion took root in the late 19th century, in reaction to the notorious "spoils system" (as in "to the victor belong the spoils"), by which elected politicians filled government jobs with their friends and supporters. In 1883, the Pendleton Act attempted to divorce civil service from political patronage. But it wasn't easy. As one New York politico declared: "You can't keep an organization together without patronage. Men ain't in politics for nothin'." Here are some key dates in the evolution of civil service: CHINA PRUSSIA FRANCE UNITED STATES GREAT BRITAIN UNITED STATES 1880s 1889-1890s 1900s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1970s 1990s 2000s SOURCES: Infoplease.com, Reader's Companion to American History, Digital History, Historyalive.com, Federaltimes.com, U.S. Statistical Abstract
206 B.C.-220 A.D.
The Han dynasty uses competitive exams to select civil officials.
Mid-1600s
Frederick William, elector of Brandenburg, creates a civil administration staffed through competitive exams.
1790s-Early 1800s
Napoleonic reforms transform the royal service into a civil service.
1820s-60s
U.S. civilian workforce, 1821: 6,914
After President Andrew Jackson introduces the spoils system to federal government, lines of job-seekers form daily around the White House. With neither the rival Whig nor the Democratic parties dominant enough to hold on to the presidency, the constant changes in the workforce cripple the career service. Agitation for reform begins after the Civil War (1861-65). The excesses of New York City's Tammany Hall political machine also prompt calls for reform on the national level.
1855
The civil service is established, strictly excluding British civil servants from politics.
1870s
U.S. civilian workforce, 1871:
51,020
In 1871, Congress authorizes President Ulysses S. Grant, whose administration is riddled with corruption, to appoint a Civil Service Commission, but it lasts just a few years. President Rutherford B. Hayes uses competitive testing to fill federal positions.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1881:
100,020
Reform efforts take off after President James Garfield's assassination in 1881 by a man believed to be a deranged office seeker. Two years later, the Pendleton Act re-establishes the Civil Service Commission, ending the practice of assessing federal workers a portion of their salary for the benefit of the political party that appointed them. The act makes it unlawful to fire or demote employees for political reasons and establishes the merit system in offices with more than 50 employees, covering about 10 percent of workers.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1891:
157,442
Appointed to the Civil Service Commission, Theodore Roosevelt devotes himself to combating the still-entrenched spoils system. The number of jobs subject to competitive exams goes up, and women become eligible for civil service positions.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1901:
239,476
Involvement in party politics wanes as workforce professionalism rises.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1921:
561,141
Eighty percent of the civil service is operating under merit system rules.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1931:
609,746
FDR's New Deal creates numerous agencies whose staffs are not subject to the merit system, but new rules adopted in 1938 extend the system to 90 percent of the nation's 1.8 million civil employees.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1941:
1,437,682
The 1940 Hatch Act forbids campaign contributions by officeholders. The civil service expands to 3.8 million during World War II, but the merit system is virtually abandoned. Administrators begin to chafe at new procedures that make it difficult to remove poor workers.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1970:
2,981,574
Partly in response to corruption in the Nixon administration, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 abolishes the Civil Service Commission, splitting its functions among the Office of Personnel Management, Federal Labor Relations Authority and Merit Service Protection Board.
U.S. civilian workforce, 1990:
3,128,267
New rules allow most civil servants to engage in political activity on their own time. Breaking with the civil service system, Congress allows the Federal Aviation Administration and the IRS to adopt new personnel rules.
U.S. civilian workforce, 2001:
2,709,956
A new personnel system is proposed for the newly created Department of Homeland Security. The Defense Department follows suit.