Advantages And Disadvantages Of The Spoils System

Changing how large governmental structures function is neither an easy task nor a quick one; it will require the undoing and unlearning of a very tightly held political and economic system by all parties involved. At the center of Spade’s call for

Throughout the rigmarole of political history of the United States of America, the growth of the “fourth branch of government”, the Bureaucracy, has been a prominent, controversial topic. Peter Woll, in his article “Constitutional Democracy and Bureaucratic Power”, and James Q. Wilson, in his article “The Rise of the Bureaucratic State”, discuss this developing administrative branch. The Constitution has no written mention of an “administrative branch”, and today’s Bureaucracy is often tedious, corrupt, and even undemocratic. But such a branch’s development and expansion is necessary in order to keep par with an evolving and changing society.

Another of these monumental changes would be the surrender of the control of power from the legislative branch to the executive branch. Over the twentieth century, this became an increasing reality as the focus shifted from Congress to the president (Cooper 2009, 388). While this development has many different advantages in the American government system, there are disadvantages as well, such as a decrease in stability (Cooper 2009, 379). The role of the president has become more important because of the changes that have led to the modern world (Cooper 2009, 388). This has occurred because of a number of reasons, such as “substantial increases in the responsibilities of the federal government, the stakes of politics, and the ease of communication and travel” (Cooper 2009, 388). Furthermore, in recent years, Congress has not worked hard in certain circumstances to protect their rights but have surrendered to the executive branch (Davidson, Oleszek, and Lee 2010, 498). It is

Spoils System – The spoils system is the firing of previous government officials who are replaced with government officials that side with the president or to whom the president owes favors.

The spoils system, known also as the patronage system is the rotation of officers in government. Document I describes a case where Andrew Jackson decides to appoint Samuel Swartwout as the collector of the port of New York. Swartwout was known to have criminal tendencies, however, Jackson refused to listen to the warnings and appointed him anyways. “He liked Swartwout because he had been an early supporter, unlike Van Buren, and so he went ahead with the appointment. In time, Swartwout absconded with $1,222,705.09...Jackson was mortified.” According to the definition of democracy, the power is vested in the people and the common people are considered as the primary source of political power. Here, Andrew Jackson is abusing his presidential powers by choosing his supporters and undercutting the smooth running of the government. The rotation in office has been just a political device Jackson use to get his supporters a role in government. Andrew Jackson did not give Americans the chance to participate in

The danger of politics lead to the principal factor of checks and balances, within the government and Founding Fathers, throughout the “most crucial and consequential [decade] in American history” (27). Politics were also what lead to the quarrel between John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson.

The depth and quality of knowledge used by policy makers can influence the effectiveness of policies. According to Milakovich and Gordon, competitive political forces constantly push elected representatives to focus on immediate political decisions, rather than on long term professional-administrative values such as efficient use of resources and increased productivity (p.431). During President Bush’ election he used certain failures of the past administration to enhance his win to presidency as the public trust in the

This allows the executive branch to determine the makeup of the judiciary branch, and through it exercise power over the legislative branch. Because the men and women appointed to the Supreme Court remain there for life, with no public elections to possibly remove them, a president can affect politics through his choice of appointees for decades after his time in office has ended (Romance, July 29). But this, too, is limited by the Congress as the president’s judicial appointments are subject to the consent of the Senate (Landy and Milkis, 289).

Voters are often rewarded with patronage jobs. However, patronage can result in poorer service to the

The patronage system is a practice in which a political party who wins an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts or other favors. Though some would deny it, we continue to have patronage going on today.

“The government, which was designed for the people, has got into the hands of the bosses and their employers, the special interests. An invisible empire has been set up above the forms of democracy.” This quote by Woodrow Wilson fits perfectly with the topics that will be discussed. The major theme of this paper is bureaucracy. Bureaucracy refers to an administrative system in which agencies staffed largely by non elected officials perform specific tasks in accordance with standard procedures. The work of the bureaucracy involves implementing laws and procedures. Does this sound familiar? That is because most bureaucrats work for the executive branch of the government. The executive branch is the one that enforces the laws. Some of these law enforcing jobs include mail clerk, police officer, fireman, and first responder. These jobs are essential to our lives as Americans and are greatly appreciated. This paper will expound on the history, usage, and the Cabinet

The Supreme Court of the United States is perhaps the most eminent judicial branch in the world and has served for a model for justice and democracy. However the Court is not exempted from scrutiny, and critics question the increasing politicized nature of the Court, from the appointment process to the nature of their decisions in landmark cases like; Dred Scott v. Sandford, Roe v. Wade to Bush v. Gore. Based on empirical evidence, this essay argues that the United States Supreme Court today is severely influenced by politics and not as much by law- at least in practice. Indeed, robust partisanship of the political interests of the President and Congress imposes on the constitutional function of the Court.

The American Presidency is undoubtedly one of the most widely recognized popular icons throughout the world. Although to most foreigners or those who have never resided in the United States or know little of its history, the executive branch of government may seem to be as dull and unyielding as the rest of the American politics, for those few rare individuals who have taken the time to examine and closely scrutinize this office of the American political system and its recent history, quite the opposite will be said. Unlike Congressional or local elections where typically a number of individuals of the same ideological background must be elected in order for a particular issue to be

The depth and quality of knowledge used by policy makers can influence the effectiveness of policies. According to Milakovich and Gordon, competitive political forces constantly push elected representatives to focus on immediate political decisions, rather than on long term professional-administrative values such as efficient use of resources and increased productivity (p.431). During President Bush’ election he used certain failures of the past administration to enhance his win to presidency as the public trust in the

The presidency occupies a unique position in all systems of government including the American system of government. The formal powers and the constitutional position occupied by the institution of the presidency are at the core of all national and international politics (Alexandrova & Timmermans, 2013). The President can serve as Commander-in-chief, nominate and appoint ambassadors, just to name a few of the powers of office. However, there is another power that is often overlooked by most, the power of agenda setting. The Constitution does not directly state this power, but it is heavily implied. This paper scrutinizes the institution of the presidency in line with agenda-setting literature. The agenda setting process relates to a series of streams, circumstances, or activities within public policy institutions and processes. The agenda setting process has three streams that incorporate the problem stream, the policy stream, and the politics stream. The problem stream relates to potential policy problems that may have different magnitudes attached to them. The policy stream associates with an agglomeration of potential solutions to policy problems (Eshbaugh-Soha, 2010). Additionally, the politics stream links to those policy issues and solutions that