In 1883, the reformed the civil service by requiring that government jobs be filled based on merit, not political connections.

It is the Pendleton Act. It is the United States elected law, authorized in 1883, which set up that positions inside the government ought to be granted on the premise of legitimacy rather than political association. 
The demonstration was marked into law by President Chester A. Arthur, who had turned into a vigorous reformer after Garfield's death. The Pendleton Act gave that Federal Government occupation be granted on the premise of legitimacy and that Government workers be chosen through focused exams.