USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -spoils system, also called patronage system, practice in which the political party winning an election rewards its campaign workers and other active supporters by appointment to government posts and with other favours.

Detailed explanation-2: -During this era of reform and “Jacksonian Democracy, ” the spoils system flourished by using political patronage to reward jobs to the partisan faithful.

Detailed explanation-3: -The term was derived from the phrase “to the victor belong the spoils” by New York Senator William L. Marcy, referring to the victory of Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, with the term spoils meaning goods or benefits taken from the loser in a competition, election or military victory.

Detailed explanation-4: -Although President George Washington based most of his federal appointments on merit, subsequent presidents deviated from this policy. By the time Andrew Jackson was elected president in 1828, the “spoils system, ” in which officials rewarded political friends and supporters with government positions, was in full force.

Detailed explanation-5: -President Jackson, the Democratic Party, and party loyalists and supporters all benefited from the spoils system. For Jackson, the spoils system gave him increased power and control over the levers of the federal government, as he was able to appoint those who would follow his direction to positions in the government.