The Spoils System is defined in the United States as the practice of making appointments to public offices and providing employment in public service on the basis of a political affiliation or personal relationship rather than on the basis of merit. This is an extreme form of political cronyism and favoritism that originated during the colonial period but flourished in state administrations after the 19th century. The opposite of the spoiler system is the merit system, established in the U.S. government system in 1883, which promoted and hired public employees based on their ability to perform a job, rather than their political connections. The spoiler system has a negative impact on government because it produces a corrupt government that is more interested in the favoritism of political parties than in the needs of the public. A merit system is ultimately better because it screens federal employees for their specialized skills and education so as to screen out incompetent workers and leave only the most qualified workers. The meritocratic system has paved the way for more expertise and less politics in government. Prior to this extensive form of patronage system, appointments to government jobs were decided on the basis of suitability for office. This was first noticed when George Washington included in his cabinet two able leaders of opposing parties, Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton. It was only the election of Andrew Jackson in 1829 that changed things for the worse for the civil service. In his inaugural address, Jackson declared the need to restore the federal government, which had been controlled by Democratic-Republicans since the early 19th century. Jackson was motivated by three principles to reform the civil service…half of the document…affiliation might favor the two-party system, but ultimately caused stress and tense conditions among government leaders and appointees. Regardless of whether or not the spoiler system was supported during the term, government leaders, especially the president, were concerned with deciding who to hire and where to improve their political status. This prevented most leaders from carrying out their primary tasks and duties. The merit system successfully avoids this major conflict by allowing the Civil Service Commission to regulate the system and help hire sufficient employees for each position. Today, more than 90 percent of the 2.7 million federal civilian employees are insured through merit systems. The Pendleton Act laid the foundation for a permanent merit-based system. The law paved the way for minorities to also get government jobs.