美國行政學者沃爾多指出『我們的政治是希臘的，但行政是羅馬的』，發展歷程是先「希臘」後「羅馬」，先創建立憲民主體制，後發展行政官僚體系，從影響事件來看，1787年制憲會議建立美國民主政治，1883年的潘德頓文官改革法，讓聯邦文官體制從分贓制轉向功績制的分水嶺。美國邁向功績制之路絕不簡單，其涉及憲政體制的爭議，以及政黨政治發展的歷程，本文將採取歷史考察方式，探討美國文官體制從分贓制到功績制的歷程，及其所涉及的憲法與政黨政治問題，以此掌握美國從分贓制走向功績制的意義。

Dwight Waldo, an American public administration scholar, said”our politics are Greek, but our administration is Roman,”he meant the constitutional democracy were built up at first and administrative bureaucracy was made up afterward. Americans created democratic politics in the Constitutional Convention of 1787, and they enacted the Pendleton Civil Service Reform Act in 1883, this act is the watershed of employment of federal civil servants from spoils system to merit system. The civil service reform is not only an administrative problem, it is also related to the development of constitutional regime and party politics, it is not an easy mission. This article will discuss the development of employment of American federal civil servants from spoils system to merit system, including the backgrounds of American constitutionalism and party politics, by the historical investigation approach, we will catch the significances of the transition from spoils system to merit system.