The first campaign finance legislation on the national level was the provision in The Naval Appropriations Bill of 1867, which banned political contributions from workers of the navy yards. The law did not, however, change the character of the Gilded Age civil service, which was built on patronage and the so-called spoils system. The awarding of governmental posts often resulted in the funding of political parties by levies on the salaries of federal workers. After the assassination of President James Garfield, and particularly the midterm congressional election of 1882, civil service system reform became a leading issue in Congress. This led to the passage of The Civil Service Act in 1883, known as the Pendleton Act from the name of its sponsor, Senator George Pendleton.

The main purpose of the legislation was to create a new category of federal employees, who would be appointed through competitive selection on the basis of their qualifications for office. The establishment of entrance exams for the civil service hopefuls was aimed at building a more efficient and competent bureaucracy, loyal first and foremost to their office or government agency and not to politicians, to whom they would no longer owe their positions. Although, at the beginning, the Act referred to only 10% of federal workers, its scope broadened in the following decades to cover more than half of employees by the turn of the 20th century. It also forbade this class of employees from donating money to political campaigns. Based on the merit system, the Act was intended to lessen political power over the civil service. The Pendleton Act was the first serious regulation to reform the administration of elections, reduce the impact of political parties on federal employees, and aim at the de-politicization of government officers in the United States.

An act to regulate and improve the civil service of the United States…