501. Benjamin Franklin and Confucian Merit System

Most Western countries today have adopted some form of the Confucian merit system, one of China’s greatest contributions to modern democracy. Interestingly enough, despite now being one of the cultural icons of the West, the United States adopted the Confucian system later than many of its European peers.[1] It was only in 1884 that Congress passed the Pendleton Act, alternatively known as the Civil Service Reform Act, which initiated a long-overdue reform of the US civil service system. The passage of the Pendleton Act marked the US federal government’s embracement of the Confucian merit system.  Although the passage of the Pendleton Act represented the first time the Confucian system gained legal credence within the United States, it was not the first time such a change had been suggested. About a century earlier, American “Founding Father” Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) had proposed that the fledging nation look to the ancient Chinese merit system for selecting public servants.

For more information concerning the topic one can read Dr. Dave Wang's paper,

A JOURNEY OF ADOPTING THE CONFUCIAN MERIT SYSTEM:  FROM BENJAMIN FRANKLIN TO THE PENDLETON ACT OF 1883

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[1] History of Civil Service Merit System of the United States and Selected Foreign Countries, together with Executive Reorganization Studies and Personnel Recommendations, compiled by The Library of Congress Congressional Research Service, for the Subcommittee on Manpower and Civil Service of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service, House of Representatives 94^th Congress, 2^nd session, December 31, 1967, U.S Government Printing Office, Washington, 1976, p.4.