Скачать или смотреть The Assassination That Rewired American Government

Did you know the modern field of public administration basically started with a shooting?

In this episode of The Purple Zone, Alexis unpacks the surprising chain of events that shaped the government we know today — and why those same questions are back on the table right now.

In this episode we explore:
• How the spoils system (“to the victor belong the spoils”) dominated early U.S. politics
• The 1881 assassination of President James Garfield by a disappointed office seeker
• How the Pendleton Act (1883) launched the merit-based civil service
• Woodrow Wilson’s landmark 1887 essay “The Study of Administration”
• The rise of a professional civil service throughout the 20th century
• How today’s Schedule F / Schedule Policy-Career debate echoes pre-Pendleton patronage logic

Why this matters:
The people who carry out government decisions — analysts, lawyers, economists, managers, public administrators — shape everything from disaster response to education to veterans’ benefits.
So the question isn’t partisan. It’s structural:
Should government be run by neutral professionals or political loyalists?

👉 If you’ve ever wondered how we got the civil service we have — and whether we’re drifting back toward a spoils system — this episode connects the dots.

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