page_title: Administrative discretion
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Administrative discretion / History
caption_attribution_description: English: Andrew_Jackson_1873_Issue-2c.jpg
context_page_description: In public administration, administrative discretion refers to the flexible exercising of judgment and decision making allowed to public administrators. Regulatory agencies have the power to exercise this type of discretion in their day-to-day activities, and there have been cases where regulatory agencies have abused this power. Administrative law can help these agencies get on the path of following regulations, serve the public, and in turn, a reflection of the public's values and beliefs.
  There is a need for administrative law because the interest of public could be at risk if various agencies were not following laws and regulations. Administrative law is important because without it, it could lead to arbitrary and unreasonable use of such discretion, which may lead to destruction of basic principles of administrative law. Although this type of discretion isn't laid out in the job-description of a bureaucrat/public servant, it is necessary because citizens use these bureaucratic institutions every day; such as the D.M.V., public schooling, and numerous others.
context_section_description: The idea of administrative discretion dates back as far as the time of widely known Greek philosopher Socrates in his quest to lay the foundation for philosophical ethics. Socrates determined a general ranking of "universal morals" in order to piece together certain criterion that could test what course of action to take in any immediate situation. He assigned value orders as well as certain "means to ends" that would determine alternatives for ethical philosophical generalization. In doing so, Socrates was creating the first type of basis for administrative discretion. 
  When Andrew Jackson took office in 1829, the country was going through radical changes—the scale of government grew extensively which caused the need for an increase in the administrative activity. Jackson brought the bureaucratization of administration. He appointed his close friends to office to work in administered processes. This was known as the "spoils system", in which was a system was in place where presidential administrations had the power of hiring or firing federal workers; this brought a constant change in demands and routines for personnel. Of his additions to the administrative discretion and of bureaucracy as we know it today, one in particular, the creation of The Patent Reform Act of 1836 brought about the creation of new offices and adjudicatory administrative boards.  Although, perhaps unknowingly, Jackson brought a new age to administrative discretion. Another president who has come in contact with administrative discretion is Madison. Known as Madison's Managers, drafted in 1787, some argue that early public administration literature had it right.
  After Jackson, many presidents followed suit of his example—appointing members to administrative processes. In some cases, officials appointed by the presidents abused their powers in administration. There were attempts to control administrative discretion throughout the 19th century, but those attempts overall, failed. Political appointees believed they indeed were law themselves—Jesse Hoyt and his successor Samuel Swartwout for example, notoriously did not comply with the rule to return funds they had collected on behalf of the Federal Government. However, within the 20th century, substantial changes occurred that better formed the concept of administrative discretion as we know it today.
  Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal brought much needed relief to the public by implementing welfare programs in a dire time of crisis. There was a type of bureaucratic "sprawl": this era saw the creation of numerous agencies and boards. The birth of such a large bureaucracy, not only helped in aiding the public, but Roosevelt’s programs also answered important question of who would be part of the bureaucracy and govern future welfare programs. The New Deal emphasized the importance of administrative discretion in government and their processes by expanding the staff of the White House and creating new managerial techniques for the executive.
  The Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 was created to govern the internal procedures of administrative agencies and how those agencies interact with the public. The act came about after the Attorney General appointed a committee to investigate the need for procedural reform. The notion of the time (not too far off-base of popular public notion today) was that various agencies were created by Congress over a long period of time in a piece-mail, haphazard manner. The view was that there was no uniformity in the chaotic bodies to administer anything. The 1946 act places policies on agencies’ rule-making, adjudications, and licensing behavior. The intention was to make sure that the public is protected and safe, with secured proper entitlements.
caption: Andrew Jackson 1873 Postage Stamp—US Postal Service
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