Before the civil service act of 1883 how are government appointments handled

They were awarded based on the spoils system

The spoils system was the idea that the victor takes the spoils of war, that is, the person who won the presidency can fire all employees that don't support him and put his own people into positions of power in federal agencies and organizations. After that, the merit system was introduced that ended this corrupt practice.

Yes, some people used the depression to the max. not everybody had stocks, and those that didn't bought many things inexpensive, so that when prices rose again, they were much more richer than beforehope this