6. Roosevelt clashed with the American system of Civil Service sinecures
In 1889 Benjamin Harrison, whom Roosevelt had supported in the election of the preceding year, appointed department store magnate John Wanamaker as Postmaster General of the United States. He also appointed Theodore Roosevelt to the Civil Service Commission. Roosevelt viewed the position as one which gave him the authority to vigorously enforce the Civil Service regulations which were for the most part winked at as part of the political spoils system by both parties. Wanamaker fired thousands of postal employees, replacing them as patronage jobs for supporters of President Harrison. Roosevelt in turn enforced civil service regulations, exposing the patronage, and removing Harrison supporters.
Roosevelt’s actions tarnished the reputation of Wanamaker and eroded support in the public mind for Harrison. When Harrison ran for re-election in 1892 Roosevelt actively campaigned for him, blaming the exploitation of the spoils system on Wanamaker, rather than the president, but Harrison lost to Grover Cleveland. Cleveland retained Roosevelt in his position, though Wanamaker was replaced by Wilson Bissell (Postmaster General was a Presidential Cabinet position at the time). Roosevelt remained on the Civil Service Commission until moving on to a more adventurous job in New York City.