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107-410: In politics and government , a spoils system (also known as a patronage system ) is a practice in which a political party , after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends ( cronyism ), and relatives ( nepotism ) as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party—as opposed to a merit system , where offices are awarded or promoted on
214-481: A Latinization of the Greek πολιτικός ( politikos ) from πολίτης ( polites , 'citizen') and πόλις ( polis , 'city'). There are several ways in which approaching politics has been conceptualized. Adrian Leftwich has differentiated views of politics based on how extensive or limited their perception of what accounts as 'political' is. The extensive view sees politics as present across
321-573: A close election to Democrat Grover Cleveland . The Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station was later demolished. The site is now occupied by the West Building of the National Gallery of Art . The National Park Service in 2018 placed permanent wayside signs to mark the spot of the assassination and to honor Garfield. A few blocks away the James A. Garfield Monument stands on the southwest corner of
428-503: A royal house . A few of the smaller states survived, such as the independent principalities of Liechtenstein , Andorra , Monaco , and the republic of San Marino . Most theories see the nation state as a 19th-century European phenomenon, facilitated by developments such as state-mandated education, mass literacy , and mass media . However, historians also note the early emergence of a relatively unified state and identity in Portugal and
535-411: A cab that he had waiting for him outside the station, but he collided with policeman Patrick Kearney, who was entering the station after hearing the gunfire. Kearney apprehended Guiteau and was so excited at having arrested the man who had shot the president that he neglected to take the gun from him until after they arrived at the police station. Kearney demanded, "In God's name, man, what did you shoot
642-679: A diplomatic post for his supposedly vital assistance, first asking for a consulship in Vienna , then expressing a willingness to "settle" for one in Paris . He loitered around Republican headquarters in New York City during the winter of 1880–1881, expecting rewards for his speech, but to no avail. Guiteau arrived in Washington, D.C., on March 5, 1881, the day after Garfield's inauguration , still believing that he would be rewarded. He obtained entrance to
749-434: A federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism ). In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states, as well as the division of power between them and the central government, is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral decision of either party,
856-452: A hired carriage at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station on the southwest corner of Sixth Street and Constitution Avenue NW in Washington. When Guiteau stepped out of the cab the driver asked him if he should wait for him. He replied that he wouldn't need a ride back as he was going to jail afterwards. Garfield came to the station on his way to his alma mater Williams College , where he
963-400: A hurried but incomplete effort to replace references to Grant with references to Garfield. The result was that Guiteau appeared to give Garfield credit for accomplishments that he had originally ascribed to Grant, yet he convinced himself that his speech was largely responsible for Garfield's narrow victory over Democratic nominee Winfield Scott Hancock . Guiteau believed he should be awarded
1070-425: A large number of removals after Jackson assumed power. At the beginning of Jackson's administration, fully 919 officials were removed from government positions, amounting to nearly 10 percent of all government postings. The Jackson administration aimed at creating a more efficient system where the chain of command of public employees all obeyed the higher entities of government. The most-changed organization within
1177-534: A law practice, bill collecting, and spending time in the utopian Oneida Community . Former President Ulysses S. Grant was the early front runner for the Republican presidential nomination in 1880 and was supported by the Stalwart faction . Guiteau became a Stalwart and a Grant supporter, and authored a speech, "Grant against Hancock". When Grant lost the nomination to dark horse candidate James A. Garfield , who
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#17330849986141284-627: A letter to Garfield, saying that he should fire Blaine or "you and the Republican party will come to grief". The letter was ignored, as was all the correspondence that Guiteau sent to the White House. Guiteau continued to prepare carefully; he wrote a letter to William Tecumseh Sherman , the Commanding General of the Army , asking for protection from the mob that he assumed would gather after he killed
1391-424: A metal detector specifically to find it. He was unsuccessful, partly because Garfield's metal bedframe made the instrument malfunction, and partly because self-appointed chief physician Doctor Willard Bliss allowed Bell to use the device only on Garfield's right side, where Bliss insisted the bullet had lodged. Bell's subsequent tests indicated his metal detector was in good working order and that he would have found
1498-522: A nonpartisan merit basis. While few jobs were covered under the law initially, the law allowed the President to transfer jobs and their current holders into the system, thus giving the holder a permanent job. The Pendleton Act's reach was expanded as the two main political parties alternated control of the White House every election between 1884 and 1896. Following each election, the outgoing President applied
1605-787: A political entity that has monopoly on violence within its territory, while the Montevideo Convention holds that states need to have a defined territory; a permanent population; a government; and a capacity to enter into international relations. A stateless society is a society that is not governed by a state . In stateless societies, there is little concentration of authority ; most positions of authority that do exist are very limited in power and are generally not permanently held positions; and social bodies that resolve disputes through predefined rules tend to be small. Stateless societies are highly variable in economic organization and cultural practices. While stateless societies were
1712-421: A relative by marriage, then went out to purchase a revolver . He knew little about firearms, but he believed that he would need a large caliber gun. O'Meara's store in Washington provided a choice between two versions of the .442 Webley caliber British Bulldog revolver , one with a wood grip and another with an ivory grip. He favored ivory because he thought that it would look better as a museum exhibit after
1819-522: A result of political campaigns by nationalists , during the 19th century. In both cases, the territory was previously divided among other states, some of them very small. Liberal ideas of free trade played a role in German unification, which was preceded by a customs union , the Zollverein . National self-determination was a key aspect of United States President Woodrow Wilson 's Fourteen Points , leading to
1926-539: A result of some shared rational interest. The theories largely focus on the development of agriculture, and the population and organizational pressure that followed and resulted in state formation. One of the most prominent theories of early and primary state formation is the hydraulic hypothesis , which contends that the state was a result of the need to build and maintain large-scale irrigation projects. Conflict theories of state formation regard conflict and dominance of some population over another population as key to
2033-576: A revolver and began stalking Garfield with the goal of assassinating him. After being struck by the bullets, Garfield was carried back to the White House , where he underwent medical treatment for over two months. His condition fluctuated, though generally worsened over time as he began to suffer from sepsis and infection. His treatment in part consisted of doctors trying in vain to find the bullet still lodged in his body; by doing so, they likely aggravated his existing wounds and introduced new sources of infection, decreasing his chances of survival. Garfield
2140-589: A seaside mansion given over to his use. The intent was to help the President escape the Washington heat and humidity, in the vain hope that the fresh air and quiet might aid his recovery. Garfield was propped up in bed before a window with a view of the beach and ocean. New infections set in, as well as spasms of angina . Garfield died of a ruptured splenic artery aneurysm, following sepsis and bronchial pneumonia at 10:35 pm on Monday, September 19, 1881, in Elberon, New Jersey, two months before his 50th birthday. During
2247-480: Is President now!" This statement briefly led to unfounded suspicions that either Vice President Chester A. Arthur or his supporters had put Guiteau up to the crime. The Stalwarts were a Republican faction loyal to Senator Roscoe Conkling ; they supported Grant for a third term in 1880 and strongly opposed Blaine's Half-Breeds. Garfield was unaffiliated with either faction, but Blaine had given his support to Garfield once it became clear that Blaine could not win
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#17330849986142354-457: Is a political system that operates for corrupt ends. When corruption is embedded in political culture, this may be referred to as patrimonialism or neopatrimonialism . A form of government that is built on corruption is called a kleptocracy ('rule of thieves'). Assassination of James A. Garfield On July 2, 1881, James A. Garfield , the 20th president of the United States ,
2461-454: Is accused of introducing the system himself. In addition, both John Adams and Thomas Jefferson have also been accused, to a degree, of introducing the spoils system to U.S. politics. In 1828 , moderation was expected to prevail in the transfer of political power from one U.S. president to another. This had less to do with the ethics of politicians than it did with the fact the presidency had not transferred from one party to another since
2568-417: Is based on the use of power, irrespective of the ends being pursued. Agonism argues that politics essentially comes down to conflict between conflicting interests. Political scientist Elmer Schattschneider argued that "at the root of all politics is the universal language of conflict", while for Carl Schmitt the essence of politics is the distinction of 'friend' from 'foe'. This is in direct contrast to
2675-552: Is closely linked to ethics , and is at its extreme in utopian thinking. For example, according to Hannah Arendt , the view of Aristotle was that, "to be political…meant that everything was decided through words and persuasion and not through violence"; while according to Bernard Crick , "politics is the way in which free societies are governed. Politics is politics, and other forms of rule are something else." In contrast, for realists, represented by those such as Niccolò Machiavelli , Thomas Hobbes , and Harold Lasswell , politics
2782-535: Is commonly thought that the spoils system was introduced by President Andrew Jackson, historical evidence does not support this view. Patronage came to the United States during its Colonial history , whereas in its modern form, the spoils system got introduced into U.S. politics during the administration of George Washington , whose outlook generally favored members of the Federalist Party . Sometimes, Washington
2889-598: Is continually being written by the legislative and judiciary branch of government; this is just one of those cases in which the nature of the circumstances determines the form of government that is most appropriate. England did set the fashion of written constitutions during the Civil War but after the Restoration abandoned them to be taken up later by the American Colonies after their emancipation and then France after
2996-437: Is embedded in a particular political culture. Lucian Pye 's definition is that, "Political culture is the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments, which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system." Trust is a major factor in political culture, as its level determines the capacity of the state to function. Postmaterialism
3103-405: Is exercised on a wide range of social levels, from clans and tribes of traditional societies, through modern local governments , companies and institutions up to sovereign states , to the international level . In modern nation states , people often form political parties to represent their ideas. Members of a party often agree to take the same position on many issues and agree to support
3210-411: Is methodologically diverse and appropriates many methods originating in psychology , social research , and cognitive neuroscience . Approaches include positivism , interpretivism , rational choice theory , behavioralism , structuralism , post-structuralism , realism , institutionalism , and pluralism . Political science, as one of the social sciences , uses methods and techniques that relate to
3317-572: Is not limited to modern institutions of government . Frans de Waal argued that chimpanzees engage in politics through "social manipulation to secure and maintain influential positions". Early human forms of social organization—bands and tribes—lacked centralized political structures. These are sometimes referred to as stateless societies . In ancient history, civilizations did not have definite boundaries as states have today, and their borders could be more accurately described as frontiers . Early dynastic Sumer , and early dynastic Egypt were
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3424-632: Is the degree to which a political culture is concerned with issues which are not of immediate physical or material concern, such as human rights and environmentalism . Religion has also an impact on political culture. Political corruption is the use of powers for illegitimate private gain, conducted by government officials or their network contacts. Forms of political corruption include bribery , cronyism , nepotism , and political patronage . Forms of political patronage, in turn, includes clientelism , earmarking , pork barreling , slush funds , and spoils systems ; as well as political machines , which
3531-418: Is the science of comparison and teaching of different types of constitutions , political actors, legislature and associated fields. International relations deals with the interaction between nation-states as well as intergovernmental and transnational organizations. Political philosophy is more concerned with contributions of various classical and contemporary thinkers and philosophers. Political science
3638-532: The Democratic-Republican Party . The Jacksonian split after the 1824 election restored the two-party system . Jackson's first inauguration , on March 4, 1829, marked the first time since 1801 where one party yielded the presidency to another. A group of office seekers attended the event, explaining it as democratic enthusiasm. Jackson supporters had been lavished with promises of positions in return for political support. These promises were honored by
3745-710: The Dutch Republic . Scholars such as Steven Weber , David Woodward , Michel Foucault , and Jeremy Black have advanced the hypothesis that the nation state did not arise out of political ingenuity or an unknown undetermined source, nor was it an accident of history or political invention. Rather, the nation state is an inadvertent byproduct of 15th-century intellectual discoveries in political economy , capitalism , mercantilism , political geography , and geography combined with cartography and advances in map-making technologies . Some nation states, such as Germany and Italy , came into existence at least partly as
3852-656: The Revolution and the rest of Europe including the European colonies. Constitutions often set out separation of powers , dividing the government into the executive , the legislature , and the judiciary (together referred to as the trias politica), in order to achieve checks and balances within the state. Additional independent branches may also be created, including civil service commissions , election commissions , and supreme audit institutions . Political culture describes how culture impacts politics. Every political system
3959-578: The State Department and the White House and approaching various Cabinet members and prominent Republicans to press his claim, all without success. Guiteau was destitute and increasingly slovenly because he was wearing the same clothes every day, and would walk through the cold, snowy city without overcoat, hat, gloves, or boots. On May 13, 1881, he was banned from the White House waiting room. The following day, he encountered Secretary of State James G. Blaine , who told him, "Never speak to me again on
4066-546: The Tammany Hall machine , which survived until the 1950s when New York City reformed its own civil service. Illinois modernized its bureaucracy in 1917 under Frank Lowden , but Chicago held on to patronage in city government until the city agreed to end the practice in the Shakman Decrees of 1972 and 1983. Politics Politics (from Ancient Greek πολιτικά ( politiká ) 'affairs of
4173-653: The U.S. Capitol grounds. The question of Presidential disability was not addressed. Article II, section 1, clause 6 of the U.S. Constitution says that in case of the "Inability [of the President] to discharge the Powers and Duties of the said Office, the same shall devolve on the Vice President", but gives no further instruction on what constitutes inability or how the President's inability should be determined. Garfield had lain on his sickbed for 79 days without performing any of
4280-710: The Uruk period and Predynastic Egypt respectively around approximately 3000 BC. Early dynastic Egypt was based around the Nile River in the north-east of Africa , the kingdom's boundaries being based around the Nile and stretching to areas where oases existed. Early dynastic Sumer was located in southern Mesopotamia , with its borders extending from the Persian Gulf to parts of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers. Egyptians, Romans, and
4387-565: The White House and saw the President on March 8, 1881, dropping off a copy of his speech as a reminder of the campaign work which he had done on Garfield's behalf. Guiteau spent the next two months roaming around Washington, staying at rooming houses and sneaking away without paying for his meals and lodging. He passed his days loitering in hotel lobbies to read old newspapers and using hotel stationery to write letters to those who he thought could help him obtain an appointment from Garfield. In addition, he spent time shuffling back and forth between
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4494-502: The World Trade Organization . The study of politics is called political science , It comprises numerous subfields, namely three: Comparative politics , international relations and political philosophy . Political science is related to, and draws upon, the fields of economics , law , sociology , history , philosophy , geography , psychology , psychiatry , anthropology , and neurosciences . Comparative politics
4601-472: The election of 1800 —known historically for the extraordinary steps the outgoing Federalist Party took to try and maintain as much influence as possible by exploiting their control over federal appointments up until their final hours in office (see: Marbury v. Madison and Midnight Judges Act ). By 1816, the Federalists were no longer nationally viable, and the U.S. became effectively a one-party polity under
4708-647: The first civilizations to define their borders . Moreover, up to the 12th century, many people lived in non-state societies. These range from relatively egalitarian bands and tribes to complex and highly stratified chiefdoms . There are a number of different theories and hypotheses regarding early state formation that seek generalizations to explain why the state developed in some places but not others. Other scholars believe that generalizations are unhelpful and that each case of early state formation should be treated on its own. Voluntary theories contend that diverse groups of people came together to form states as
4815-917: The 18th century, the classic non-national states were the multinational empires : the Austrian Empire , Kingdom of France , Kingdom of Hungary , the Russian Empire , the Spanish Empire , the Ottoman Empire , and the British Empire . Such empires also existed in Asia, Africa, and the Americas; in the Muslim world , immediately after the death of Muhammad in 632, Caliphates were established, which developed into multi-ethnic transnational empires. The multinational empire
4922-571: The 4th century granted citizenship rights to their free population; in Athens these rights were combined with a directly democratic form of government that was to have a long afterlife in political thought and history. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is considered by political scientists to be the beginning of the modern international system, in which external powers should avoid interfering in another country's domestic affairs. The principle of non-interference in other countries' domestic affairs
5029-485: The 79 days between his shooting and death, Garfield's only official act was to sign a request for the extradition of a forger who had escaped and was apprehended after he fled to Canada. Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors been more capable. Unlike their peers in Europe, most American doctors of the day did not believe in anti-sepsis measures or
5136-562: The Greeks were the first people known to have explicitly formulated a political philosophy of the state, and to have rationally analyzed political institutions. Prior to this, states were described and justified in terms of religious myths. Several important political innovations of classical antiquity came from the Greek city-states ( polis ) and the Roman Republic . The Greek city-states before
5243-454: The Paris consulship as long as you live." Guiteau's family had judged him to be insane in 1875 and attempted to have him committed , but he had escaped. Now his mania took a violent turn, and he decided that he had been commanded by a higher power to kill the President. He later stated, "I leave my justification to God." Guiteau borrowed $ 15 (equivalent to $ 470 in 2023) from George Maynard,
5350-476: The Pendleton Act to some of the positions for which he had appointed political supporters. By 1900, most federal jobs were handled through civil service, and the spoils system was limited to fewer and fewer positions. Although state patronage systems and numerous federal positions were unaffected by the law, Karabell argues that the Pendleton Act was instrumental in the creation of a professional civil service and
5457-412: The President died from a late rupture of a splenic artery pseudoaneurysm, which developed secondary to the path of the bullet adjacent to the splenic artery. They also argued that his sepsis was actually caused by post-traumatic acute acalculous cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder). Based on the autopsy report, the authors speculate that Garfield's gallbladder subsequently ruptured, leading to
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#17330849986145564-469: The President for?" Guiteau responded, "I am a Stalwart, and want Arthur for President." The rapidly gathering crowd screamed, " Lynch him", but Kearney and several other police officers took the assassin to the police station a few blocks away. As he surrendered to authorities, Guiteau uttered the exulting words, repeated everywhere: "I am a Stalwart of the Stalwarts! I did it, and I want to be arrested! Arthur
5671-524: The President suffered from hallucinations for a time. Pus -filled abscesses spread all over his body as the infections raged. Garfield's condition worsened under the oppressive summer weather in Washington. On September 6, Garfield was taken by train to Elberon (then part of Long Branch) at the Jersey Shore , where volunteers built a spur line, overnight, from the station to the Francklyn Cottage,
5778-520: The President, and he wrote other letters justifying his action as necessary to heal dissension between the factions of the Republican Party. He went to the District of Columbia jail to ask for a tour of the facility where he expected to be incarcerated, but he was told to come back later. He spent the whole month of June following Garfield around Washington. On one occasion, Guiteau trailed Garfield to
5885-452: The assassination, but could not afford the extra dollar, so the store owner dropped the price for him. (The handgun was recovered and displayed by the Smithsonian in the early 20th century, but it has since been lost.) Guiteau spent the next few weeks stalking Garfield and in target practice; the recoil "kick" from the gun almost knocked him over the first time that he fired it. He wrote
5992-465: The basis of some measure of merit , independent of political activity. The term was used particularly in politics of the United States , where the federal government operated on a spoils system until the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883 due to a civil service reform movement. Thereafter the spoils system was largely replaced by nonpartisan merit at the federal level of the United States. The term
6099-714: The bullet had he been allowed to use the device on Garfield's left side. On July 29, Garfield met with his Cabinet for the only time during his illness; the members were under strict instruction from the doctors not to discuss anything upsetting. Garfield became increasingly ill over a period of several weeks due to infection, which caused his heart to weaken. He remained bedridden in the White House with fevers and extreme pains. His weight dropped from 210 pounds (95 kilograms) to 130 pounds (58 kilograms) as his inability to keep down and digest food took its toll. Nutrient enemas were given in an attempt to extend his life because he could not digest food. Sepsis and infection set in, and
6206-484: The cities') is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups , or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of status or resources . The branch of social science that studies politics and government is referred to as political science . Politics may be used positively in the context of a "political solution" which is compromising and non-violent, or descriptively as "the art or science of government", but
6313-430: The degree of horizontal integration between the legislature , the executive , the judiciary , and other independent institutions. The source of power determines the difference between democracies , oligarchies , and autocracies . In a democracy, political legitimacy is based on popular sovereignty . Forms of democracy include representative democracy , direct democracy , and demarchy . These are separated by
6420-546: The development of a large bile -containing abscess adjacent to the gallbladder. Pappas and Joharifard say this caused the septic decline in Garfield's condition that was visible starting from July 23, 1881. Vice President Arthur was at his home in New York City when word came the night of September 19 that Garfield had died. He said, "I hope—my God, I do hope it is a mistake", but confirmation by telegram came soon after. Arthur
6527-733: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the Ottoman Empire after the First World War , while the Russian Empire became the Soviet Union after the Russian Civil War . Decolonization lead to the creation of new nation states in place of multinational empires in the Third World . Political globalization began in the 20th century through intergovernmental organizations and supranational unions . The League of Nations
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#17330849986146634-570: The duties of his office except for the signing of an extradition paper, but this did not prove to be a difficulty because in the 19th century the federal government effectively shut down for the summer regardless. During Garfield's ordeal, Congress was not in session and there was little for a president to do. Blaine suggested the Cabinet declare Arthur acting president , but this option was rejected by all, including Arthur, who did not wish to be perceived as grasping for power. Congress did not deal with
6741-656: The executioner, Guiteau signaled that he was ready to die by dropping the paper. Part of Guiteau's preserved brain is on display at the Mütter Museum at the College of Physicians of Philadelphia . Guiteau's bones and more of his brain, along with Garfield's backbone and a few ribs, are kept at the National Museum of Health and Medicine , at the Army's Forest Glen Annex in Silver Spring , Maryland . Garfield's assassination
6848-524: The federal government proved to be the Post Office. The Post Office was the largest department in the federal government, and had even more personnel than the War Department. In one year, 423 postmasters were deprived of their positions, most with extensive records of good service. Nevertheless, Jackson did not differ much from other Presidents in the number of officials he replaced by his own partisans. By
6955-427: The formation of states. In contrast with voluntary theories, these arguments believe that people do not voluntarily agree to create a state to maximize benefits, but that states form due to some form of oppression by one group over others. Some theories in turn argue that warfare was critical for state formation. The first states of sorts were those of early dynastic Sumer and early dynastic Egypt , which arose from
7062-483: The funeral was held on September 26. Guiteau went on trial in November, represented by his brother-in-law George Scolville. He received ample media attention during his trial for his bizarre behavior, including constantly insulting his defense team, formatting his testimony in epic poems which he recited at length, and soliciting legal advice from random spectators in the audience via passed notes. Guiteau claimed that he
7169-485: The incapacity of a president is recognized. Garfield, like many other presidents of his time, often traveled on public infrastructure without any type of personal security protection. It would not be until the assassination of William McKinley some twenty years later that Congress would finally task the United States Secret Service (founded to prevent counterfeiting ) with the responsibility of ensuring
7276-597: The interactions through which values are authoritatively allocated for a society." Each political system is embedded in a society with its own political culture, and they in turn shape their societies through public policy . The interactions between different political systems are the basis for global politics . Forms of government can be classified by several ways. In terms of the structure of power , there are monarchies (including constitutional monarchies ) and republics (usually presidential , semi-presidential , or parliamentary ). The separation of powers describes
7383-524: The kinds of inquiries sought: primary sources such as historical documents and official records, secondary sources such as scholarly journal articles, survey research, statistical analysis , case studies , experimental research , and model building. The political system defines the process for making official government decisions. It is usually compared to the legal system , economic system , cultural system , and other social systems . According to David Easton , "A political system can be designated as
7490-445: The late 1860s, citizens began demanding civil service reform, but it was only after the 1881 assassination of James A. Garfield by Charles J. Guiteau as revenge for the latter being denied a consulship that the calls for civil service reform intensified. Moderation of the spoils system at the federal level with the passage of the Pendleton Act in 1883, which created a bipartisan Civil Service Commission to evaluate job candidates on
7597-498: The location of the bullet but creating a new channel which filled with pus. The autopsy discovered this error and revealed pneumonia in both lungs and a body that was filled with pus due to uncontrolled sepsis. The conventional narrative regarding Garfield's post-shooting medical condition was challenged by Theodore Pappas and Shahrzad Joharifard in a 2013 article in The American Journal of Surgery , in which they argued that
7704-445: The more co-operative views of politics by Aristotle and Crick. However, a more mixed view between these extremes is provided by Irish political scientist Michael Laver, who noted that: Politics is about the characteristic blend of conflict and co-operation that can be found so often in human interactions. Pure conflict is war. Pure co-operation is true love. Politics is a mixture of both. The history of politics spans human history and
7811-710: The name of Aristotle 's classic work, Politiká , which introduced the Ancient Greek term politiká ( Πολιτικά , 'affairs of the cities') . In the mid-15th century, Aristotle's composition would be rendered in Early Modern English as Polettiques [ sic ], which would become Politics in Modern English . The singular politic first attested in English in 1430, coming from Middle French politique —itself taking from politicus ,
7918-436: The need for cleanliness to prevent infection. Several inserted their unwashed fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, and one doctor punctured Garfield's liver in doing so. Also, Bliss had supplanted Garfield's physician Jedediah Hyde Baxter . Bliss and the other doctors who attended Garfield had guessed wrong about the path of the bullet in his body; they had probed rightward into his back instead of leftward, missing
8025-453: The night; nevertheless, he remained conscious and alert. The next morning, his vital signs were good and doctors began to hope for recovery. A long vigil began, and Garfield's doctors issued regular bulletins that the American public followed closely throughout the summer of 1881. Garfield's condition fluctuated; fevers came and went, he struggled to keep down solid food, and he spent most of
8132-413: The norm in human prehistory, few stateless societies exist today; almost the entire global population resides within the jurisdiction of a sovereign state . In some regions nominal state authorities may be very weak and wield little or no actual power . Over the course of history most stateless peoples have been integrated into the state-based societies around them . Some political philosophies consider
8239-464: The personal is political ", which disputes the distinction between private and public issues. Politics may also be defined by the use of power, as has been argued by Robert A. Dahl . Some perspectives on politics view it empirically as an exercise of power, while others see it as a social function with a normative basis. This distinction has been called the difference between political moralism and political realism . For moralists, politics
8346-524: The presidential nomination. Arthur, a Conkling ally, had been selected as Garfield's running mate to placate the Stalwart faction. As a self-professed Stalwart, Guiteau convinced himself that by removing Garfield, he was striking a blow to unite the two factions of the Republican Party. Garfield was carried to an upstairs floor of the railway station, conscious but in shock . One bullet remained lodged in his body, but doctors could not find it. Robert Lincoln
8453-473: The problem of what to do if a president were alive but incapacitated as Garfield was, nor did the Congress take up the question thirty-eight years later, when Woodrow Wilson suffered a stroke that put him in a coma for days and left him partially paralyzed and blind in one eye for the last year and a half of his presidency. The Twenty-fifth Amendment was ratified in 1967 and provides an official procedure when
8560-452: The railway station as he was seeing his wife, Lucretia Garfield , off to a beach resort in Long Branch, New Jersey ; he decided not to shoot the President then, as Lucretia was known to be in poor health and he did not want to upset her. Garfield was scheduled to leave Washington on July 2, 1881, for his summer vacation, which was reported in the Washington newspapers, Guiteau arrived by
8667-530: The rise of the modern bureaucratic state. The law also caused major changes in campaign finance, as the parties were forced to look for new sources of campaign funds, such as wealthy donors. The separation between political activity and the civil service was made stronger with the Hatch Act of 1939 which prohibited federal employees from engaging in many political activities. The spoils system survived much longer in many states, counties and municipalities, such as
8774-482: The same changes to law and the same leaders. An election is usually a competition between different parties. A political system is a framework which defines acceptable political methods within a society. The history of political thought can be traced back to early antiquity, with seminal works such as Plato 's Republic , Aristotle 's Politics , Confucius 's political manuscripts and Chanakya 's Arthashastra . The English word politics has its roots in
8881-430: The shooting. Guiteau was an American man who had distributed copies of a speech he wrote aimed at promoting Garfield in the 1880 United States presidential election . Guiteau believed his campaigning had been vital to Garfield's eventual victory, and that Garfield owed him a diplomatic post in Europe for his assistance. After months of failed attempts to solicit such a reward from the Garfield administration, he purchased
8988-400: The sphere of human social relations, while the limited view restricts it to certain contexts. For example, in a more restrictive way, politics may be viewed as primarily about governance , while a feminist perspective could argue that sites which have been viewed traditionally as non-political, should indeed be viewed as political as well. This latter position is encapsulated in the slogan "
9095-423: The state undesirable, and thus consider the formation of a stateless society a goal to be achieved. A central tenet of anarchism is the advocacy of society without states. The type of society sought for varies significantly between anarchist schools of thought , ranging from extreme individualism to complete collectivism . In Marxism , Marx's theory of the state considers that in a post-capitalist society
9202-441: The state, an undesirable institution, would be unnecessary and wither away . A related concept is that of stateless communism , a phrase sometimes used to describe Marx's anticipated post-capitalist society. Constitutions are written documents that specify and limit the powers of the different branches of government. Although a constitution is a written document, there is also an unwritten constitution. The unwritten constitution
9309-565: The states or the federal political body. Federations were formed first in Switzerland, then in the United States in 1776, in Canada in 1867 and in Germany in 1871 and in 1901, Australia . Compared to a federation , a confederation has less centralized power. All the above forms of government are variations of the same basic polity , the sovereign state . The state has been defined by Max Weber as
9416-482: The station's waiting room, Guiteau stepped forward and shot the president at point-blank range from behind. Garfield cried out, "My God, what is that?", flinging up his arms. Guiteau fired again, and Garfield collapsed. The first bullet grazed the President's shoulder, and the other struck him in the back, passing the first lumbar vertebra but missing the spinal cord before coming to rest behind his pancreas . Guiteau put his gun back in his pocket and turned to leave via
9523-446: The summer eating only liquids. Navy engineers rigged up an air cooler to relieve Garfield from the heat of a Washington summer. Fans blew air over a large box of ice and into the President's sickroom, and the device worked well enough to lower the temperature 20 degrees (Fahrenheit). Doctors continued to probe Garfield's wound with unsterilized fingers and instruments, attempting to find the bullet, and Alexander Graham Bell devised
9630-776: The way decisions are made, whether by elected representatives, referendums , or by citizen juries . Democracies can be either republics or constitutional monarchies. Oligarchy is a power structure where a minority rules. These may be in the form of anocracy , aristocracy , ergatocracy , geniocracy , gerontocracy , kakistocracy , kleptocracy , meritocracy , noocracy , particracy , plutocracy , stratocracy , technocracy , theocracy , or timocracy . Autocracies are either dictatorships (including military dictatorships ) or absolute monarchies . In terms of level of vertical integration, political systems can be divided into (from least to most integrated) confederations , federations , and unitary states . A federation (also known as
9737-587: The word often also carries a negative connotation. The concept has been defined in various ways, and different approaches have fundamentally differing views on whether it should be used extensively or in a limited way, empirically or normatively, and on whether conflict or co-operation is more essential to it. A variety of methods are deployed in politics, which include promoting one's own political views among people, negotiation with other political subjects, making laws , and exercising internal and external force , including warfare against adversaries. Politics
9844-574: Was inaugurated early in the morning on September 20, and he took the presidential oath of office from John R. Brady , a New York Supreme Court judge. Arthur then left for Long Branch to pay his respects to Mrs. Garfield before going on to Washington. Garfield's body was taken to Washington, where it lay in state in the Capitol Rotunda and in the United States House of Representatives chamber before being taken to Cleveland , Ohio , where
9951-401: Was actively making plans to start a lecture tour after his release and to run for president himself in 1884; at the same time, he delighted in the media circus surrounding his trial. Guiteau was dismayed when the jury was unconvinced of his divine inspiration, convicting him of Garfield's murder on January 25, 1882, and sentencing him to death. He appealed , but his appeal was rejected, and he
10058-437: Was an absolute monarchy ruled by a king, emperor or sultan . The population belonged to many ethnic groups, and they spoke many languages. The empire was dominated by one ethnic group, and their language was usually the language of public administration. The ruling dynasty was usually, but not always, from that group. Some of the smaller European states were not so ethnically diverse, but were also dynastic states, ruled by
10165-565: Was deeply upset, thinking back to the assassination of his father , Abraham Lincoln, 16 years earlier; he said, "How many hours of sorrow I have passed in this town." He would again be near a presidential assassination 20 years later, when President William McKinley was killed at the Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, which Robert was attending. Garfield was carried back to the White House, and doctors told him that he would not survive
10272-471: 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 . Similar spoils systems are common in other nations that traditionally have been based on tribal organization or other kinship groups and localism in general. Although it
10379-724: Was founded after World War I , and after World War II it was replaced by the United Nations . Various international treaties have been signed through it. Regional integration has been pursued by the African Union , ASEAN , the European Union , and Mercosur . International political institutions on the international level include the International Criminal Court , the International Monetary Fund , and
10486-464: Was hanged on June 30, 1882, just two days before the first anniversary of the shooting, in the District of Columbia. Guiteau famously danced his way up to the gallows and waved at the audience, shook hands with his executioner, and, as a last request, recited a poem that he had written called " I am Going to the Lordy ". He requested an orchestra to play as he sang the poem; it was denied. As per request with
10593-603: Was instrumental to the passage of the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act on January 16, 1883. Garfield himself had called for civil service reform in his inaugural address and supported it as president in the belief that it would make government more efficient. It was passed as something of a memorial to the fallen President. Arthur, himself in poor health by 1884, did not actively seek the Republican nomination which went to James G. Blaine, whom Arthur had retained as his Secretary of State. Blaine went on to lose
10700-440: Was killed not by him but by medical malpractice: "I deny the killing, if your honor please. We admit the shooting." Under the felony murder rule , however, Guiteau was still legally responsible for Garfield's death even if it did not occur as the direct result of the shooting. He was housed at St. Elizabeths Hospital in the southeastern quadrant of Washington, D.C., throughout the trial and up until his execution. Guiteau's trial
10807-540: Was laid out in the mid-18th century by Swiss jurist Emer de Vattel . States became the primary institutional agents in an interstate system of relations. The Peace of Westphalia is said to have ended attempts to impose supranational authority on European states. The "Westphalian" doctrine of states as independent agents was bolstered by the rise in 19th century thought of nationalism , under which legitimate states were assumed to correspond to nations —groups of people united by language and culture. In Europe , during
10914-515: Was later transported by train to a mansion in New Jersey, where he would die. Guiteau was arrested immediately after the assassination as he attempted to flee the train station. His trial was widely publicized, and his legal team's attempts to use the insanity defense failed. He was convicted and sentenced to death on January 25, 1882, and hanged on June 20, 1882. Guiteau had turned to politics after failing in several ventures, including theology,
11021-480: Was not affiliated with either the Stalwarts or their rivals the Half-Breeds , Guiteau revised his speech to "Garfield against Hancock" and tried to sign on as a campaigner for the Republican ticket. He never delivered the speech in a public setting, but had it printed (he never paid the bill) and distributed several hundred copies. The speech was ineffective, even in written form; among other problems, Guiteau had made
11128-543: Was not guilty because Garfield's murder was the will of God and he was only an instrument of it. He sang " John Brown's Body " to the court. He dictated an autobiography to the New York Herald , ending it with a personal ad for a nice Christian lady under 30. He was oblivious to the American public's outrage and hatred of him, even after he was almost killed twice himself—once while in prison, and again while being transported there. At one point, Guiteau argued that Garfield
11235-408: Was one of the first high-profile cases in the United States where the insanity defense was considered. Guiteau vehemently insisted that he had been legally insane at the time of the shooting, but he was not really medically insane, which caused a major rift with his defense lawyers, and which probably contributed to the jury's impression that Guiteau was merely trying to deny responsibility. Guiteau
11342-410: Was scheduled to deliver a speech before beginning his vacation. He was accompanied by his sons James and Harry , and by Secretary of State James G. Blaine; Secretary of War Robert Todd Lincoln waited at the station to see him off. Garfield had no bodyguard or security detail; early presidents did not employ them, with the exception of Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War . As Garfield entered
11449-545: Was shot at the Baltimore and Potomac Railroad Station in Washington, D.C. , resulting in his death in Elberon, New Jersey , two and a half months later on September 19, 1881. The shooting occurred less than four months into his term as president. He was the second American president to be assassinated , following Abraham Lincoln in 1865 . Charles J. Guiteau was convicted of Garfield's murder and executed by hanging one year after
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