Patronage an appointment to a political office usually as a reward for helping a candidate get elected. Patronage -Giving government jobs to people who had helped a candidate get elected. -also known as the spoils system. spoils system Also known as patronage, which was the giving of government jobs to people who helped a candidate get elected. However this became a problem in the government because many people who were given these jobs weren't qualified for them, and sometimes used their job positions for their own personal gain. Seeing that this was becoming a major issue in the government reforms began to press for the elimination of patronage, and believed that jobs in civil service/ government administration should go to the most qualified people and not based off their political views or who they were recommended by