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Reformers petitioned for the elimination of a merit system of hiring. They believed that jobs in civil service should go to the most qualified person. It shouldn’t matter what political views they had or who recommended them. When Chester Arthur became president after President Garfield died, his first message to Congress urged legislators to pass a civil service law. The Civil Service Act of 1883 authorized a bipartisan civil service commission to make appointments to federal jobs through a merit system based on candidate's performance on an examination. The Act had mixed consequences. Pro: public administration became more honest and efficient. Con: because officials could no longer pressure employees for campaign contributions, politicians turned to other sources of donations. The Civil Service Act helped the government and the people because it made people take a test to get federal job. This helped because it put more skilled people in federal jobs.

"Today's Document from the National Archives." National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives and Records Administration. Web. 15 Oct. 2015. .  Danzer, Gerald A. //The Americans//. Orlando, Fla.: Holt McDougal ;, 2012. Print.