History Of Bureaucracy

The original bureaucracy of the federal government consisted only of employees from three small departments, State, Treasury, and War. The executive branch employs today almost three million people. Not only have the numbers of bureaucrats grown, but also the methods and standards for hiring and promoting people have changed dramatically. Given the size of the bureaucracy, it is difficult to imagine a statistically typical bureaucrat. As a whole, however, the permanent bureaucracy is more broadly representative of the American people than are legislators, judges, or presidential appointees in the executive branch.
Until little more than one hundred years ago, a person got a job with the government through the patronage. Patronage is a hiring and promotion system based on political factors rather than on merit or competence. Working in a congressional campaign, making large donations, and having the right connections helped people secure jobs with the government. Nineteenth-century presidents …show more content…
Guiteau was frustrated because President James A. Garfield would not give them a job, Guiteau shot and killed Garfield. Vice President Chester A. Arthur, signed the Pendleton Act into law, which created a federal commission to oversee hiring on the basis of merit rather than partisanship. Today, most federal agencies are covered by some sort of civil service system.
Moreover, the Civil Service System in the United States is comprised of fifteen executive departments thought there are also various independent agencies that also considered to be the civil service. Among the various executive departments, some include the State Department, Justice Department, Department of the Interior, Education Department, and Agriculture Department. Among the Independent agencies are the United States Postal Service, NASA, and the Federal Deposit Insurance