The practice of giving government jobs to friends and political supporters was known as

The practice of awarding government positions to friends and political supporters was called Patronage, also known as the Spoils System. The name of patronage came from the idea that the person in power was a patron of his associates and gave them promotions based on their relationships to him. The name of the Spoils System originated from the spoils that would be looted from successful plundering operations and divided by the leader among those who had participated.