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
Charles J. Albright He served as member of the State board of charities in 1875. He served as president of the board of school examiners of the Cambridge Union School 1881-1883. He died in Cambridge, Ohio, October 21, 1883. He was interred in South Cemetery. Charles J. Albright Charles Jefferson Albright (May 9, 1816 – October 21, 1883) was a U.S. Representative from Ohio. Born in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Albright moved with his parents in 1824 to Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. He received a limited schooling. He was employed in a harness shop and as a clerk in a rural store. Apprenticed as a printer.