Political appointments in the United States federal government until 1883. In 1820 Congress limited federal administrators to four-year terms, which led to constant turnover; by the 1860s and the Civil War, patronage had led to widespread inefficiency and political corruption. Although it used to be confined to cabinet positions, department heads, and foreign ambassadorships, by the 1860s patronage had spread to low-level government positions. This meant that when the incumbent political party lost a presidential election, the federal government underwent wholesale turnover. On July 2, 1881, Charles J. Guiteau, a disaffected and mentally unstable political office seeker, assassinated President James Garfield. This highlighted how much the
SS Belgravia (1881) SS Belgravia (1881) SS "Belgravia" was a transatlantic liner that served in the 1880s and early 1890s. She was wrecked in 1896. SS "Belgravia" was an ocean liner of the Anchor Line, built in Glasgow Scotland by D. & W. Henderson Ltd. and launched in December 1881. After fitting out, her maiden voyage from Glasgow to New York followed in March 1882. The vessel had a single funnel and was steam propelled by a single screw with auxiliary sails which were still common in the 1880s. "Belgravia" was primarily designed for the immigrant trade and had a capacity of around