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
PS Victoria (1881) PS Victoria (1881) PS "Victoria" was a passenger vessel built for the London and South Western Railway and London, Brighton and South Coast Railway in 1881. The ship was built in steel by Aitken and Mansel and launched on 9 September 1881. Her engines were by David Rowan of Glasgow. She was the first ship constructed for a joint venture between the London and South Western Railway and the London, Brighton and South Coast Railway for the passenger trade to the Isle of Wight. She was double-ended, with two funnels. Official registries show that in 1899 she transferred to the