Discuss the evolution of the federal bureaucracy, from the spoils system through the creation of the civil service system
What will be an ideal response?
An ideal response will:
1, Explain that the spoils system involved hiring and firing of government employees on the basis of loyalty to the party in power. When new presidents were elected, bureaucrats could be favored and replaced by loyal party members.
2, Discuss problems associated with the spoils system, including high turnover in agency personnel and the fact that the bureaucrats hired under the spoils system often lacked expertise.
3, Identify the catalyst for abolishing the spoils system, which was the assassination of James Garfield in 1881 by a disgruntled office seeker.
4, Note that, in 1883, Congress passed the Pendleton Act into law, which created a federal commission to oversee hiring on the basis of merit rather than partisanship. This meant that the spoils system would be replaced with the civil service system.
5, Explain that the elimination of the spoils system was gradual rather than immediate.
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The Russian president can dismiss the Duma if it rejects the president's nominee for prime minister three times
Indicate whether this statement is true or false.
Margaret Thatcher's leadership as PM marked a critical dividing line in postwar British politics in all of the following ways EXCEPT a. she served the longest continuous stretch as prime minister in the 20th century. b. she was the first female prime minister in Western Europe
c. she was the first British prime minister to win three general elections in a row. d. she was known for her contentious relationship with British unions. e. she was known for her close foreign policy relationship with the United States.
According to political scientist Ira Sharkansky, "All modern states are welfare states, and all welfare states are __________."
A) democratic B) compassionate C) bureaucratic D) incoherent
What is hegemony and how do theorists differ in their views regarding the strategies and motives of hegemonic states? Is a hegemon necessary to create and maintain open, stable economic regimes?
What will be an ideal response?