The term, "bureaucratic imperialism," is used to describe the belief that government agencies will always and inevitably grow in size and cost. The idea is that government agencies grow, without taking into account whether their growth confers any added benefit.

The Department of Homeland Security was first proposed in the early months of 2001, and it was promptly expedited following the terrorist attacks of September 11th. It was created during the Bush Administration. The Department of Homeland Security, as its name suggests, is tasked with protecting American citizens from terrorist attacks and responding to such attacks, as well as to national disasters.

The Department of Homeland Security, set up in 2001, is tasked with protecting the American people from terrorist attacks on American soil. It differs from the Department of Defense, which deals with foreign conflicts and dangers to American lives abroad.

The Federal Reserve was created in 1913 to act as a central organization to regulate the money supply of the United States and to establish moderately long term interest rates. In the years before the Federal Reserve, financial panics were common and extremely detrimental to the growth of the economy; the Panic of 1807 is usually considered the direct tipping point. Over the years, the power of the Federal Reserve has greatly expanded, particularly during the Great Depression Era, to try to prevent economic depression and recession.

President Garfield was assassinated by Charles Guiteau. Guiteau, who wrote an essay supporting Garfield’s campaign, believed he should be rewarded with a position in Garfield’s government, and when this was not granted he enacted personal revenge. The motivation behind the assassination was one of the main factors that inspired the government to enact into law a bill that stated that government jobs should be awarded on the basis of merit alone, and not as gratitude for political favors. John Wilkes Booth was convicted of Lincoln’s assassination, Leon Czolgosz with the assassination of William McKinley, Lee Harvey Oswald with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. Robert E. Lee was a Confederate general, and war hero, during the American Civil War.

The Pendleton Act was established in 1883 and issued to ensure that government jobs were awarded on the basis of merit, or qualification, alone rather than based on political ties or personal relationships. It can be seen as part of the public’s general reaction to the assassination of James Garfield by a government employee who acquired his job due to political privilege and not based on merit.

The U.S. Postal Service is an example of a government run corporation, a business run by government. An independent regulatory agency would be something like the Federal Communications Commission, which regulates TV and media broadcasts. Government corporations usually provide a specific service and are not influenced by special interests. Government corporations tend not to trade in stocks or dividends.

Federal bureaucrats do not engage in public policy creation, their sole purpose is to implement policy. The bureaucracy implements laws made by the legislature and executive actions, they do not advise the President or the Cabinet, nor compete in the private sector. Congressmen protect and represent the interests of their constituencies.

The National Parks Service is under the Department of the Interior, which primarily deals with natural resources and public lands within the United States. It is sometimes confused with the National Forestry Service, which is a separate agency that is located in the Department of Agriculture.

The Postmaster General is the head of the U.S. Postal Service. The Postmaster General used to an office given out as a political reward to a supporter of the president and because the office was appointed by the president it was in the Cabinet and in the Presidential Line of Succession from 1829 until 1971. In 1971 the Postal Service went through changes and became an independent agency outside of the executive branch so the position was taken out of the Cabinet and the Line of Succession. All other offices that were listed in the question do hold the status of Cabinet-rank, even if not in the Presidential Line of Succession.