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
The Rabbit (Manet 1881) (1866), which is completed in a far more traditional French style of still-life painting. This earlier painting, which is in the style of Chardin, is far more conventional and detailed than the later painting. The 1881 picture is a far more casual work, with fast and broad brushstrokes suggesting various textures, not only in the fur of the dead animal, but also in the curtains behind the window and the climbing plant which both frame the hanging rabbit. This latter work is much closer to the Impressionist style. The Rabbit (Manet 1881) The Rabbit is an 1881 oil painting by