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American Government Origins of The Bureaucracy (Module 1.3.1)
American Government Origins of The Bureaucracy (Module 1.3.1)
American Government Origins of The Bureaucracy (Module 1.3.1)
Origins of the Bureaucracy (Module 1.3.1)
[Prof. Rebecca Lubot, Ph.D. Candidate]
In this module, we'll be discussing the bureaucracy.
The bureaucracy is not written into the Constitution, nor is it one of the
three branches of government.
But Congress has the power to pass legislation which creates
government agencies and the guidelines that these agencies should
follow.
The agencies which make up the bureaucracy have the power of
administrative discretion.
The way these agencies interpret the law then sets policy.
But implementing the laws Congress enacts is the main purpose of the
bureaucracy.
Although a bureaucracy has existed within many governments since their
inception, the U.S.'s bureaucracy was initially very small.
When Andrew Jackson became president in 1828, he awarded his
supporters, party loyalists, jobs by the thousands.
These jobs were awarded based on patronage, the concept that to the
victor of the election go the political spoils, the jobs.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act of 1833 was the first to deal with this
issue, just after Jackson left office.
And the Pendleton Civil Service Act made some government jobs off
limits to patronage and made it illegal to fire or otherwise punish civil
service workers for strictly political reasons.
So it established the Civil Service Commission to enforce parts of the law.
Now most jobs at the federal level are civil service positions.
They're not awarded on patronage.
The Pendleton Civil Service Act required the passage of a Civil Service
Exam, usually an exam where you would fill in the bubbles.
Today, it is much more common the individual will be interviewed about
his or her education, background, knowledge, skills and abilities, also
known as KSAs, and these are similar to what's called core competencies
in the private sector today.
But it is important to note that the jobs are based on merit rather than
political patronage as in the age of Jackson.
Congress also passed the Hatch Act, or the Political Activities Act of 1939
to ensure that civil servants did not work on political campaigns or use
their position within the government to influence the outcome of an
election.
Today, the federal government is the single largest employer in the
United States.
The pension and benefits tend to be good in the government sector
relative to the jobs in the private sector.
A general schedule, or a pay schedule, based on 15 levels with 10 steps
or ranks in them.
Each exists to ensure uniformity in pay.
The bureaucracy is staffed by professionals, or people who intend to
make a career out of the position they're in.
Many of the years on the job leads to expertise in a particular area of
specialization, such as foreign policy if you work in the State Department,
or perhaps rainforest habitat if you work in the Environmental Protection
Agency, although there's only one rainforest in the United States, in
Puerto Rico.
The public demand for, and the expectation of, social services, beginning
in particular in response to the Great Depression, best explains the
growth of the federal bureaucracy over the past 100 years.
The president at times increased the federal bureaucracy.
FDR created the Office of War Information by executive order in 1942,
during World War Two, for example.
It was disbanded in 1945.
Then the hightech military establishment required by the Cold War was
the main reason for the expansion of the bureaucracy and the
enlargement of the federal budget, fourfifths of which was going to
defenserelated activities by the 1950s.
Later, in the 1980s, even President Ronald Reagan, who ran on a
platform of reducing the size of the federal government, found that he had
increased the size of the Department of Defense, and the government
grew bigger because of his commitment to Cold War armaments.
So it grew bigger, not smaller, during his eight years in office.
Speaking of defense, the federal bureaucracy serves a great number of
functions, from keeping track of who is eligible for the military, the
Selective Service Administration does that, to housing, organizing and
restoring important documents at the National Archives and Records
Administration, to delivering the mail, the U.S.
Postal Service of course does that.
Be sure to review the video as many times as is necessary so that you
feel comfortable with the material.
Also do the readings and answer the questions.