United States Civil Service Commission
Variant namesThe United States Civil Service Commission was established by the Civil Service Act of 1883. The Commission replaced the “spoils system” and democratized the process of hiring for federal jobs; first, because it required that these positions be filled through competitive examinations which were open to all citizens; second, because it required selection of the best-qualified applicants without regard to political considerations.
During World War II, the need for federal employees resulted in an increase in hiring. The number of employees which was about 800,000 strong in 1938, increased to almost 4,000,000 by 1945. However, many of the war-time positions were temporary. During the period after the war, the number of federal employees was reduced, with war-service and temporary appointees being displaced.
The Classification Act of 1949 contained many important features which had long been recommended by the Commission. Among other provisions, it established new and simplified schedules of grades and salaries; provided for three new grade levels at the top of the classification structure; and delegated to each agency the authority to classify its own positions, below the three highest grades. The new Classification Act provided for bringing about 20,000 additional positions under its provisions, and covered about 885,000 positions in the departmental and field services of the Government.
When the Korean emergency began, the federal service was again faced with urgent recruiting needs. To meet this need, the Commission instructed its operating offices to establish boards of examiners to the maximum practical extent. Boards of examiners demonstrated, during the emergency, that they could do a huge competitive recruiting job with speed and effectiveness.
In 1951, the Commission invited agencies to establish boards of examiners in their headquarters offices to give them a greater opportunity to participate in the selection of their own personnel and to get improved and faster recruiting services. After the armistice in Korea, there was a very substantial decrease in the size of the federal workforce. However, the board of examiners program continued to play a large and vital role in the operations of the competitive civil service system.
In 1978 the Civil Service Commission was reorganized and renamed the Office of Personnel Management.
From the guide to the United States Civil Service Commission Announcements and Other Papers, 1949-1950, (Special Collections Research Center)
| Role | Title | Holding Repository | |
|---|---|---|---|
| referencedIn | Civil Service Reform Association records | Cornell University Library | |
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| referencedIn | Ellsworth, Harris, 1899-1986. Mathew "Harris" Ellsworth papers, 1936-1956. | University of Oregon Libraries | |
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| referencedIn | Papers, 1913-1946. | New York State Historical Documents Inventory | |
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| referencedIn | Samuel H. Ordway papers, 1913-1972 | Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. Abstract of provisions of the Civil Service law and rules : with decisions affecting the Coast and Geodetic Survey. | United States. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
| referencedIn | Jones, Roger W. (Roger Warren), 1908-. Reminiscences of Roger Warren Jones : oral history, 1967. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Papers of Alison Palmer, 1971-1978 | Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | |
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| referencedIn | Katharine Amend Kellock Papers, 1924-1969 | Library of Congress. Manuscript Division | |
| referencedIn | Douds, Charles T., 1898-1982. Charles T. Douds papers, 1942-1946. | Pennsylvania State University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Papers, 1939-1946. | New York State Historical Documents Inventory | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. Letterbooks of Theodore Roosevelt, 1889-1895. | Library of Congress | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. Correspondence with Marian Anderson, 1963-1964. | University of Pennsylvania Libraries, Van Pelt Library | |
| referencedIn | Aronson, Albert H. Oral history interview with Albert Henry Aronson, 1965. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Oral history interview with Vicente Ximenes, 2004 | University of Texas at Arlington, Central Library | |
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| referencedIn | Earl Browder Papers, 1879-1990 | Syracuse University. Library. Special Collections Research Center | |
| referencedIn | Papers, 1898, 1909-1963 | Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | |
| referencedIn | Oral History Interviews of the Women's Action Organization, 1974-1977 | Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | |
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| referencedIn | Horace Mann Bond Papers, 1830-1979, 1926-1972 | Special Collections and University Archives, UMass Amherst Libraries | |
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| referencedIn | Howard, Dowell J. (Dowell Jennings), 1897-1957. Papers of Dowell Jennings Howard, 1913-1957. | University of Virginia. Library | |
| referencedIn | Paul A. Freund papers | Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 | |
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| referencedIn | White, Sue Shelton, 1887-1943. Papers, 1898-1963 (inclusive), 1909-1963 (bulk). | Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | |
| referencedIn | Katharine Amend Kellock Papers, 1924-1969 | Library of Congress. Manuscript Division | |
| referencedIn | Baruch, Ismar. Ismar Baruch, Compiler. U.S. Employment Service and U.S. Civil Service. Miscellaneous Bound documents, 1836, 1909-1953. | Cornell University Library | |
| creatorOf | Hembree, Joel F. (Joel Franklin). Some missing links with regard to domestic and foreign quotations of cotton prices and their use / Joel F. Hembree. | Texas Tech University Libraries, Academic Library | |
| referencedIn | Learned Hand papers | Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 | |
| referencedIn | Frederick L. Wellman Papers, 1915 - 1981 | North Carolina State University. Special Collections Research Center | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. Institutional file. | Brooklyn Museum Libraries & Archives | |
| referencedIn | Papers, 1941-1956. | New York State Historical Documents Inventory | |
| referencedIn | Wales, Salem Howe, 1825-1902. Papers, 1837-1908. | Winterthur Library | |
| referencedIn | Civil Service Reform Association (New York, N.Y.). Civil Service Reform Association files, 1881-1896. | Princeton University Library | |
| referencedIn | James Rudolph Garfield Papers, 1879-1950, (bulk 1890-1932) | Library of Congress. Manuscript Division | |
| creatorOf | Lawton, Esther C. (Esther Christian), 1910-1998. Esther C. Lawton papers, 1935-1996 (bulk 1971-1978). | Pennsylvania State University Libraries | |
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| referencedIn | Perkins, Frances, 1880-1965. Papers, ca.1895-1965. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Ordway, Samuel H. (Samuel Hanson), 1900-1971. Samuel H. Ordway papers, 1913-1972. | Univerisity of Wyoming. American Heritage Center. | |
| referencedIn | Rosen, Bernard, 1920-. Our Life Together and in Public Service 1942-2005. | American University, American University Library; Bender Library | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. President's letter of transmittal to Congress, [1889]. | Rosenbach Museum & Library | |
| referencedIn | A. W. Greely Papers, 1753-1997, (bulk 1880-1935) | Library of Congress. Manuscript Division | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission. Lawton post office records, 1901-1984. | Museum of the Great Plains | |
| referencedIn | American Philosophical Society Archives. Record Group IIh, 1892-1896 | American Philosophical Society | |
| referencedIn | Moffett, Guy, 1882-1963. Papers of Guy Moffett, 1920-1963. | University of Virginia. Library | |
| referencedIn | Arthur E. Sutherland papers | Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 | |
| creatorOf | United States Civil Service Commission Announcements and Other Papers, 1949-1950 | North Carolina State University. Special Collections Research Center | |
| creatorOf | Alabama. Dept. of Industrial Relations. Division of Labor (1939-1943). Administrative files, 1939-1942. | Alabama Department of Archives and History | |
| referencedIn | Papers of Alison Palmer, 1971-1978 | Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America | |
| referencedIn | Brassor, Francis P., 1899-1978. Papers, 1940-1978. | Harry S. Truman Library | |
| referencedIn | Hampton, Robert E. (Robert Edward), 1922-. Reminiscences of Robert Edward Hampton : oral history, 1967. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Walton, George E. Report of rating in rural carrier examination, 1907, 1910. | Utah Division of State History, Utah Historical Society | |
| referencedIn | Sheldon Glueck papers | Harvard Law School Library Langdell Hall Cambridge, MA 02138 | |
| referencedIn | Kuder, George Frederic, 1903-. Reminiscences of George Frederic Kuder: oral history, 1984. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries | |
| referencedIn | Lyons, Eugene J., 1904-. Reminiscences of Eugene J. Lyons : oral history, 1976. | Columbia University in the City of New York, Columbia University Libraries |
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