the General Assembly assumed many of the powers taken from the governor. Governors first began to assert their own power during the American Civil War as the General Assembly attempted to remove command of the militia from the governor. In response, the General Assembly was effectively suppressed, during which time the governor assumed many powers to appoint public officials, hire and remove state employees, and manage state finances. When the General Assembly reconvened with a majority sympathetic to the governor, he was permitted to continue many of his assumed powers. In 1889, the General Assembly began to reassert its authority over hiring state employees. The issued ended when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the legislature, again returning to it final authority over hiring state employees. The legislature passed acts in 1895 that removed the last of the governor's authority to appoint anyone to executive positions. With the onset of the Great Depression in the 1930s, the governors again began to reassert authority. The Executive Reorganization Act was passed, returning the governor to a considerable level of appointment power. New state welfare and regulatory agencies were placed directly under the governor's control, greatly expanding his role in running the state and creating many patronage positions. The legislature responded by trying to create a merit system for public offices, but it was largely unable to effectively enforce it given the new scope of government agencies. The battle with the governor continued until 1941 when the legislature rescinded the Executive Reorganization Act and replaced it with the State Administration Act, which placed most of the government under the control of elected commissioners and reduced the governor's practical executive authority to commander of the militia and the executor of legislation. The matter was taken to the Indiana Supreme Court in the case of Tucker v. State. The court ruled for the first time that the governor was in fact the Chief Executive of the state, and that the legislature could pass no law that infringed upon that right. The decision was a major shift from previous court decisions and granted governors a legal basis to resist future encroachment on their powers. During the 1970s, a series of amendments was passed under popular governors that also increased their powers. The state courts were again made appointive, but the selection of the candidates was granted to the court-dominated Indiana Judicial Nominating Commission. However, the