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The correct answer was Spoils System.
The election of Andrew Jackson in 1828 established the spoils system, in which federal civil service jobs went to political supporters, party members, family, and friends of the winning administration. 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.[1]
The Pendleton Act is a federal law passed in 1883 reforming the civil service and establishing the United States Civil Service Commission. It ended the spoils system of political patronage and established competitive examinations for hiring civil servants.[2]
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