By Seth Barron, includes “New York City was once run by political machines that rewarded supporters through patronage in the form of jobs. In the years leading up to the First World War, Progressive reformers instituted changes in government staffing. Before the Progressives came along, a change in political leadership could mean that anyone who worked for the government might lose his job, from teachers to sanitation workers to actuaries. This manifest inefficiency led to the introduction of the civil service and the advent of professional, apolitical administration. …”