President Lincoln’s Post Office Problem

 What Happens Without a Professional Civil Service

1861 Harper's Weekly Illustration
of office seekers waiting to see President Lincoln

In 1861, when the newly formed Republican Party took power, Washington was flooded with office-seekers. The spoils system was in full swing, and every postmastership, clerkship, and customs job was up for grabs. The White House became a revolving door of hopefuls, each lobbying for a position based on party loyalty rather than merit.

Even with the Union unraveling and war looming, President Lincoln couldn’t escape the crush of patronage. One day, a friend found him looking especially weary and asked if something terrible had happened at the front.

“No,” Lincoln replied with a tired smile. “It isn’t the war; it’s the post office at Brownsville, Missouri.”

That single line captures the absurdity of a president, in the midst of national crisis, being forced to micromanage local appointments—a direct consequence of a system where jobs were political favors, not professional roles.

Why It Matters Now

Luray, Missouri Post Office / Melissa Shriver

The push to revive Schedule F threatens to return us to that very world. By stripping civil service protections from tens of thousands of federal workers, it would replace expertise with loyalty, and professionalism with patronage. Presidents would once again be burdened with choosing postmasters—figuratively, if not literally—while the machinery of government grinds under political pressure.

Lincoln’s frustration wasn’t just personal—it was systemic. And it’s a warning worth heeding.

This is another anecdote about Abe Lincoln, Storyteller.

Mac

Works Cited

[1] McCLure, Alexander K. (1901) Abe Lincoln's Yarns and Stories. New York, NY: Western W. Wilson.