Carl Russell Fish

“ The true cause for the introduction of the spoils system was the triumph of democracy. If the people as a whole are to exert any tangible influence on the conduct of government, they must be organized. Unorganized they may effect a revolution, but they cannot thereby control administration. ”

“ We have found that, by turning our attention from national politics to those of the states, it is possible to discover for the spoils system a pedigree the authenticity of which is vouched for by strong family resemblance. In 1820 it was an institution of New York and Pennsylvania; it found adherents even in staid Massachusetts, and strong pressure was being brought to induce the central government to give it favor. ”

“ Jackson had sown the wind, and Van Buren was to reap the whirlwind; nor can there be much doubt that, so far as the civil service is concerned, he deserved the harvest that he garnered. Martin Van Buren is a man with a recently rehabilitated reputation: we find in him now a force and an ability unacknowledged by his contemporaries, and the temptation is to go to the extreme and to sink the politician in the statesman. It is true that in 1829 he did not directly meddle in minor politics to any considerable extent, and that as president he made but eighty removals. ”

“ This steady progress, advancing with constantly accelerated speed towards universal acceptance, overcoming the repugnance of the Whig leaders, although they were committed against such use of the patronage, and of Tyler, although his father had been one of the first to raise his voice against the evils of political appointments, implies such an impelling force behind the movement as can be roused only by an institution peculiarly adapted to the time and fitted to serve some important function in the body politic. ”

“ In the South, on the other hand, very many men formed their own political opinions and acted upon them, while many more followed some particular leader, irrespective of party.
The armor in which democracy won its early victories in this country, and to which it still clings in great part, may now seem crude and heavy and inapt to the wearer ”

“ It is not surprising that a president without a party encountered difficulty with the Senate, and that scarcely a post was filled without one or two rejections or withdrawals. Particularly unwilling were his opponents to allow him to fill an associate judgeship of the Supreme Court, although he made a very creditable selection for it. The Whigs especially opposed this nomination before the election of 1844, in hopes that the appointment might be deferred until Clay became president. ”

“ There democracy did indeed exist, but without party organization or the spoils system, and the aristocracy habitually controlled the government. It is to be noticed, however, that when in a party convention the leaders of the South met the leaders of the North, the latter often had to yield ”

“ Investigation into the efficiency of the civil service under Van Buren is not much aided by popular criticism of the details of administration, for comments on them are almost as rare, during the twelve years from 1829 to 1841, as during the previous period. The department of the national government that most nearly affects the larger part of our population is the post-office. ”

“ If the majority is to mould the policy of the party, if the demos is to be kept constantly awake and brought out to vote after the excitement of the hour has passed away, it is necessary that the party be organized. ”

“ Both parties were now thoroughly committed to proscription; and he was indeed a hypocrite, as Marcy said, who did not acknowledge that, as an actual fact, to the victor belonged the spoils. So far as the national service was concerned, this policy was, moreover, an innovation of “modern times”: some political removals had indeed been made by Adams, many by Jefferson, and there was from the first some play of factions about the federal offices in various states; but not until 1829 did the genuine spoils system come into existence ”

“ Such incompetent bookkeepers could not successfully cover up extensive frauds; but the government was not as particular as it should have been in enforcing the land laws, and a clever man could buy as much land as he wished regardless of restrictions. ”

“ He made it a rule to support no applicants for positions; [34] but this attitude was more a matter of convenience than of probity, and is therefore not particularly commendable, for, when appointments have to be made by personal selection, if the best men refuse to interfere, the choice is thereby left to their inferiors. He evidently found it difficult to maintain his aloofness. March 15, 1841, he wrote to General Harrison that he had not said that Mr. Curtis should not be appointed to the New York collectorship. ”

“ The division of the people into parties is not sufficient to secure this pervasive influence; it gives them an opportunity to vote on special questions and at stated intervals, but not to select the questions or to vote when the issue is fresh in the public mind. ”

“ Politicians of a low grade were occasionally successful, particularly those from Pennsylvania, where the Whigs had a reputation for sharp practice. The appointment of Alexander Ferguson, popularly known as Bela Badger, to the naval office at Philadelphia was considered very discreditable. [48] The qualifications of the man who was appointed collector at New York are described as follows in a letter from Peter B. Porter to Clay: “Although not personally popular, [Curtis] is represented as possessing an extraordinary share of tact or stratagem ”

“ He asks Harrison whether he has dictated “in the administration of the public patronage? The whole cabinet as well as yourself,” he adds, “can say that I have recommended nobody for any office. I have sought none for myself or my friends. I desire none. A thousand times have my feelings been wounded by communicating to those who have applied to me, that I am obliged to abstain inflexibly from all interference in official appointments.” See also Tyler to Clay, April 30, 1841, Tyler, The Tylers, iii. 94. ↑ Webster, Private Correspondence, ii. 100. ↑ See Webster to Button, May 9, 1830 ”

“ Special attention should be paid to Tyler's 154 removals, which involved a curious episode after the resignation of Webster, when the break with the Whigs was complete and the president alone was responsible for the policy pursued. ”

“ There must be drilling and training, hard work with the awkward squad, and occasional dress parade.
This work requires the labor of many men: there must be captains of hundreds and the captains of tens, district chiefs and ward heelers. ”

“ If we may trust the apparently frank reports of the special agents, it is noticeable that nearly all these men had the confidence of their communities; [14] and often, though they had an unfavorable balance against them, they retained the confidence of the treasury department. An interesting case is that of the receiver of public money at Columbus. He had speculated with government funds and had lost, and he appeared as a defaulter. Mr. Garesche, who examined the case, wrote to Woodbury: “The man seems really penitent ”

“ The influence of Joel Eastman and of Webster was supposed to be responsible for these appointments. Richmond Enquirer, January 29, May 14, 1841. The Globe, May 28, 1841, makes some complaint of confusion owing to change of personnel. For praise, see Richmond Enquirer, May 23, 1841; National Intelligencer, June 2, 1844. ↑ J. Q. Adams, Memoirs, x. 449. ↑ Fish, in American Historical Association, Reports, 1899, i. 76. ↑ Madisonian, March 12, 1841. ↑ Richmond Enquirer, March 11, April 2, 1841, quoting Boston Post. ↑ Congressional Debates, 23 Cong. 2 sess. 596; Tyler, Parties and Patronage, 68 ”