ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the expression of ethical values in public administration from the nineteenth century through the 1960s. It focuses on the promotion of standards for the field as a whole in American Society for Public Administration (ASPA) through a code of ethics. The chapter discusses the development of the ASPA codes to illustrate the challenges and accomplishments of converting widely held ethical expectations into a coherent set of ethical standards for all professionals who serve the public. The public administration community that organized as an association in 1939 had a strong value base and extensive informal professionalism on which to build. Spurred by Watergate and the attention to social equity raised by the New Public Administration, ASPA formed the Professional Standards and Ethics Committee (PSEC) in 1974. ASPA developed a workbook that assisted members in conducting self-diagnosis of their ethical values and responsibilities.
