spoils system
noun
the system or practice in which public offices with their emoluments and advantages are at the disposal of the victorious party for its own purposes.
Origin of spoils system
An Americanism dating back to 1830–40
Words nearby spoils system
spoiled priest,
spoiler,
spoiler party,
spoilfive,
spoils,
spoils system,
spoilsman,
spoilsport,
spoilt,
spokane,
spoke
Example sentences from the Web for spoils system
Those were the days when the 'spoils-system' had begun to act with corrosive effect on public affairs and public men.
William Jay and the Constitutional Movement for the Abolition of Slavery |Bayard Tuckerman
British Dictionary definitions for spoils system
spoils system
noun
mainly US
the practice of filling appointive public offices with friends and supporters of the ruling political party
Compare merit system
Cultural definitions for spoils system
spoils system
The practice of appointing applicants to public offices as a reward for their loyalty to the political party in power. The term comes from a statement by a senator in the 1830s: “To the victor belong the spoils.” Reform of the system commenced in the 1880s with the introduction of merit as the basis of appointment to office. (See James A. Garfield, machine politics, and patronage.)