The terms of all elected officials must be short, so that as many good democrats as possible could occupy an easy chair in the house of government; and officials must for similar reasons be appointed for only short terms.

Traditional practice at Washington disregarded these obvious inferences from the principles of true democracy.

Until the beginning of Jackson's first administration the offices in the government departments had been appropriated by a few bureaucrats who had grown old at their posts; and how could such a permanent appropriation be justified?
The pioneer Democrat believed that he was as competent to do the work as any member of an office-holding clique, so that when he came into power, he corrected what seemed to him to be a genuine abuse in the traditional way of distributing the American political patrimony.

He could not understand that training, special ability, or long experience constituted any special claim upon a public office, or upon any other particular opportunity or salary.

One democrat was as good as another, and deserved his share of the rewards of public service.