How to Use spoils system in a Sentence
spoils system
noun-
But in practice, the modern civil service already functions as a one-sided spoils system.
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James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
30 Jan. 2026
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Finally there’s Arthur, an upwards-failing buffoon caught—like so many of his countrymen, then and now—between Conkling’s spoils system and Garfield’s idealism.
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Judy Berman,
Time,
28 Nov. 2025
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Over a century ago, the federal government pivoted from a spoils system, where political favoritism ruled the day, into a system that rewards merit, knowledge and experience.
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Carrie Johnson,
NPR,
17 Sep. 2025
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The federal workforce was initially built in the 19th century more on party loyalty than merit, which eventually triggered a corrupt and ineffective spoils system.
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Michael P. Dempsey,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026
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That is the promise of the James Garfield administration, which seeks to restore the public trust by eliminating the spoils system and literally opening the White House doors to constituents.
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Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
6 Nov. 2025
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Once a loyal Stalwart who opposed Garfield's reform agenda, Arthur stunned the nation by ending the spoils system and signing the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883.
—
Allison Degrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
10 Nov. 2025
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'spoils system.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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