Why Did Andrew Jackson support the Spoils System?
In the politics of the United States, a spoils system refers to an informal practice by which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its voters as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party. The term was derived from the phrase “to the victor go the spoils.” It is opposed to a system of awarding offices on the basis of some measure of merit independent of political activity (merit system). After he became President in 1828, Andrew Jackson systematically rewarded his supporters by starting the Second party System. He considered that popular election gave the victorious party a “mandate” to select officials from its own ranks. Proponents claimed that ordinary Americans were able to discharge the former official duties of government offices; not just a special civil service elite. Opponents reconsidered it invulnerable to competence and heavy duty corruption, and thus violating the credo of republicanism. The Seco
