Click here for the Word Document or PDF version of this page. DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
his
race for a seat in the Virginia House of Burgesses. Said to have purchased and distributed more than a quart of rum, beer, and hard
cider per
voter (391 voters in the district) during the campaign. 1828 Kentucky
Governor's Race A Candidate solicited donations of $5,000 to $10,000. 1828 Professional
Campaign Managers Practice
of Professional Campaign Managers begins. 1838 New York Mayor's
Race Vote buying --- As much as $22 was being paid for an
uncommitted vote. 1864 President Abraham Lincoln Warns of "a crisis approaching" in a 21 November
letter. "As a result of the
war, corporations have become enthroned, and an era of corruption in high places will follow. The money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its rule by preying upon the prejudices of the people
until all wealth is
concentrated in few hands and the Republic is destroyed." DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
practice of shaking down naval yard workers of political donations. 1876 The Golden Age of
Boodle Historian George Thayer nicknamed the era "Gilded
Age". Filled with political corruption, Tammy Hall and Boss Tweed. Mark Twain, "I think I
can
say, and say with pride, that we have legislatures that bring high prices than any in the world." 1883 Civil Service
Reform Act aka Pendleton Act. Applied the Naval
Appropriation Act to all government workers. 1896 Election Watershed for campaign finance set the record for
expenditures, unsurpassed for the next quarter century. McKinley = $7 million, Bryan = $650,000. Marcus Alonzo
Hanna, Ohio businessman and chairman of the Republican national Committee, introduced the practice of
regularly assessing businesses for campaign contributions and began the
practices of political advertising, regular press releases, speakers, posters,
buttons, and billboards. 300,000 flyers in 9 different languages. 1905 President
Roosevelt calls for Reform President
Theodore Roosevelt argued for a ban on all political contributions by corporations. Also proposed a public financing system
for all
federal candidates. 1907 Tillman Act President Theodore Roosevelt called for public financing of
federal candidates via political parties and congress responded with the
Tillman Act banning bank and corporate giving. The ban was largely ignored. DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
requirements for federal candidates and limited the spending by House
and Senate candidates. 1913 17th Amendment Direct election of Senators. Expansion of the Electorate and importance of the
common voter to the overall process; thus, requiring more campaign financing. 1920 19th Amendment Women's Suffrage.
Expansion of the Electorate and importance of the common voter to the overall process; thus, requiring more
campaign financing. 1924 Democratic Party
Campaign Plank The
Party campaign plank, sponsored by William Jennings Bryan, called for
federal candidates to be furnished "reasonable means of publicity at public expense." 1925 Amendment to
Federal Corrupt Served as the basic campaign finance act until 1971. Act was
devoid of Practices Act any enforcement procedures.
Strengthened the disclosure requirements and
caps spending. President LBJ referred to
the law as "more loophole than law." 1935 Hatch Act Congress prohibited contributions to federal candidates
from federal workers and contractors and limited individual contributions to
$5,000 per year. 1936 Labor
Contributions to Campaigns CIO
president John L. Lewis contributes $500,000 to the Democratic Party. 1943 Smith-Connally Act Prohibited Labor Unions from directly contributing money to
federal candidates. DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
Action Committee (PAC) funded through voluntary
contributions and not union treasury funds. 1947 Taft-Hartley Act Permanent ban on contributions to federal candidates from
unions, corporations, and interstate banks. 1950 Electronic
Campaigning Between 1956 and 1968 campaign spending doubles from $155
million to over $300 million as outlays for broadcast media increased six fold, from $10 million to $60 million. 1968 Campaign
Contributions 8 percent of the voting population gave contributions to
local, state, and federal candidates. 1971 Federal Election
Campaign Act FECA
- Congress passes the act to set limits on and require disclosure of spending by candidates for federal offices and provides for
financing for Presidential campaigns. Required full and timely disclosures, limited some contributions, capped spending, and permitted unions and corporations to
form PACs. 1971 Revenue Act Established the public financing system for qualifying
presidential candidates paid for by the
voluntary $1.00 check off on income tax forms.
Also
provided $50.00 tax deduction for individual contributions (ended
1978) or $12.50 tax credit (raised to $50.00 in 1978
and eliminated in 1986). 1972 Watergate
Election President Richard Nixon's re-election committee received
millions of dollars in secret. I.E.
Robert Vesco ($200,000 in a briefcase), Howard Hughes ($100,000 in a safe deposit box), Clement Stone ($2
million), 13 corporations ($780,000 in illegal corporate contributions). DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
commission to enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act provisions. Creates $1,000 individual contribution
limit and a $5,000 PAC limit. 1976 Buckley v. Valeo 424 U.S. 1 Supreme Court ruling that mandatory spending
limits violate free speech mandates. 1976 FECA Amendments Congress enacts new amendments to FECA to comply with
Buckley v. Valeo. 1978 General Election
Spending General election spending totals equal $153.5 million. 1979 FECA Amendments Package of amendments to the election campaign act allows
the use of donations to political parties rather than candidates. First time
Congress enacted reform. 1980 General Election
Spending General election spending totals equal $192.1 million. 1985 FEC v. National
Conservative Political 470 U.S. 480 NCPAC extended Buckley's ruling that
independent Action Committee expenditures could not be limited. 1986 Bills Killed The U.S. Senate votes twice in favor of strict controls for
campaign fundraising but bipartisan maneuvers do not allow the bills to come up
for a vote. 1986 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $400.9 million. 1988 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $408.3 million. 1988 Legislative and
Legal Setbacks A
proposal for limiting overall campaign spending by candidates is shelved after a republican filibuster. A constitutional amendment to
override the Supreme Court decision fails to get off the ground. DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
Commerce spending by business corporations or other corporations
other than purely non-profit. 1990 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $403.7 million. 1990 More Legislative
Failure The House and Senate approve voluntary spending limits and
restrictions on
political action committees. Conferees fail to resolve differences and the bill
is never sent to President Bush. 1992 Bush Vetos Campaign Limits Bill President Bush vetoed a bill providing partial public
financing for congressional candidates who abide by voluntary fund-raising ceilings
and baring soft money contributions to Presidential candidates. Senate fails to override the veto. 1992 Campaign
Contributions 4 percent of the voting population gave contributions to
local, state, and federal candidates. 80 percent of all congressional campaign money
donated by PACs and individuals giving $200 or more. 1992 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $528.6 million. 1994 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $616.2 million. 1994 More Bills
Blocked Republicans again block a bill setting spending limits and
authorizing partial public financing of congressional elections. 1996 General Election
Spending General election spending reaches $650.8 million. 1996 More Bills Fail Bipartisan legislation for voluntary spending limits with
rewards for those who
comply and baring soft money is killed by a Republican filibuster. DATE EVENT DESCRIPTION
expenditures runs afoul of a Republican filibuster. Senate sets March
1998 deadline for another vote on the bill. 1999 Campaign
Integrity Act H.R. 1867 Asa Hutchinson (R -
Arkansas). Ban on soft money and raise
hard money limits. 1999 Campaign Reform
and Election Sponsored by Rep.
Bill Thomas (R - CA). Includes a ban on
foreign Integrity ACT money and reforms the FEC. 1999 Citizen
Legislature & Political H.R. 1922 sponsored by Rep. John Doolittle
(R - CA). Repeal all federal Freedom ACT election contribution limits and expedite
and expand disclosure. 1999 H.R. 417 Campaign
Reform Act Shays-Meehan
Bill, sponsored by Christopher Shays (R - CT) and Martin Meehan (D - MA). Ban
soft money and limit types of campaign advertising.
2002
Bipartisan Campaign Reform ACT
Sponsored
by Senators Russell
Feingold (D-WI) and
John McCain (R-AZ).
Revised some of the
legal limits of
expenditure set in
1974, and prohibited
unregulated
contributions
(called "soft
money") to national
political parties.
Also defined
political ads as
"electioneering
communications"
prohibiting any
such ad paid
for by a corporation
or paid for by an
unincorporated
entity using
any corporate
or union funds.
2006
U.S.
Supreme Court Decision
Right to Life
v. Federal Election
Commission: certain
advertisements might
be
constitutionally
entitled to an
exception from the
'electioneering
communications'
provisions of
McCain-Feingold.
The Court
established a
broad
exemption for any ad
that could have a
reasonable
interpretation as an
ad about
legislative issues. |
