In politics and government, a spoils system (also known as a patronage system) is a practice in which a political party, after winning an election, gives government jobs to its supporters, friends (cronyism), and relatives (nepotism) as a reward for working toward victory, and as an incentive to keep working for the party. It contrasts with a merit system, where offices are awarded or promoted based on a measure of merit, independent of political activity. The term was used particularly in the politics of the United States, where the federal government operated on a spoils system until the Pendleton Act was passed in 1883, following a civil service reform movement. Thereafter, the spoils system was largely replaced by a nonpartisan merit-based system at the federal level of the United States.
The term was derived from the phrase "to the victor belong the spoils" by New York Senator William L. Marcy, referring to the victory of Andrew Jackson in the election of 1828, with the term "spoils" meaning goods or benefits taken from the loser in a competition, election or military victory. Similar spoils systems are common in other nations that traditionally have been based on tribal organization or other kinship groups and localism in general.