Before revision: Legislative history alt=Portrait of a man with a tremendous mustache| Ole Peter Hansen Balling's 1881 portrait of Chester A. Arthur In 1880, Democratic Senator George H. Pendleton of Ohio introduced legislation to require the selection of civil servants based on merit as determined by an examination, but the measure failed to pass.
After revision: Legislative history alt=Portrait of a man with a tremendous mustache| in 1881, portrait by Ole Peter Hansen Balling Chester A. Arthur In 1880, Democratic Senator George H. Pendleton of Ohio introduced legislation to require the selection of civil servants based on merit as determined by an examination, but the measure failed to pass.