Question

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How would you explain this fact?
A number of legislative attempts at reforming the federal hiring process were made between 1861 and 1882. In fact, 64 civil service reform bills were
proposed and failed during this period-none successfully made it through either chamber of Congress.
Congress did not want to lose the ability to appoint friends and political supporters to key positions in the government
Congress was inadequately staffed; there were not enough elected officials to pass any legislation as the country was just forming
O Congress did not have the authority to pass such legislation in the absence of compelling evidence; it was up to the president
O Congress was concerned about the budget; they didn't have enough money oggarked to reform the hiring process,

Answer 1

Answer: Congress did not want to lose the ability to appoint friends and political supporters to key positions in the government

Explanation:

In the 19th century there existed a "Spoils system" in the United States where the winners of the election would appoint friends and political supporters to key government jobs to thank them for their support.

This meant that there were key posts that were not going to people of merit but rather people who simply knew those in power. There were calls to make this illegal but successive Congresses did not do so because they enjoyed being able to put their friends and supporters in power.