Campaign Finance in U.S. History, Part 2
Stuff You Missed in History Class
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The History of Campaign Finance Reform
The federal election campaign act was passed into law in 1971, and it went into effect on April 7, 1972. The FECA required that all campaigns report all of their incoming and outgoing finances. It also laid out a lot of regulations for how PACs operated. This led to a lot of problems because there wasn't any kind of regulatory agency or body that could really keep an eye on these rules.
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The second part of our campaign finance history starts with both a scandal and reform linked to Theodore Roosevelt, and carries through to more recent Supreme Court rulings.
Research:
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- Blakemore, Erin. “Elections in Colonial America Were Huge, Booze-Fueled Parties.” History.com. Nov. 25, 2019. https://www.history.com/news/colonial-america-election-day-parties
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- Perlstein, Rick. "Watergate scandal". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 Jun. 2023, https://www.britannica.com/event/Watergate-Scandal
- Roosevelt, Franklin D. “Veto of the Smith-Connally Bill.” June 25, 1943. https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/veto-the-smith-connally-bill
- Roosevelt, Theodore. “December 5, 1905: Fifth Annual Message.” UVA – Miller Center. https://millercenter.org/the-presidency/presidential-speeches/december-5-1905-fifth-annual-message
- Scott, Kyle, and Matthew A. Kern. “Buckley v. Valeo (1976).” The First Amendment Encyclopedia. 2009. https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/126/buckley-v-valeo
- “The Election Case of Truman H. Newberry of Michigan (1922).” United States Senate. https://www.senate.gov/about/origins-foundations/electing-appointing-senators/contested-senate-elections/102Ford_Newberry.htm
- “Naval Appropriation Bill.” The Philadelphia Inquirer. April 14, 1866. https://www.newspapers.com/image/168100996/?terms=%22Naval%20Appropriations%20Bill%22%20&match=1
- Terry, Stephen C. “Major Election Reform Legislation Quietly Approved by Senate.” The Times Argus. March 24, 1976. https://www.newspapers.com/image/657291645/?terms=buckley%20valeo&match=1
- “Tursts for Roosevelt.” Freeport Bulletin. Oct. 20, 1904. https://www.newspapers.com/image/762693183/?terms=insurance%20roosevelt&match=1
- Thompson, Mary V. “Beer.” George Washington’s Mount Vernon. https://www.mountvernon.org/library/digitalhistory/digital-encyclopedia/article/beer/#note3
- United States. “Defalcations. Reports of majority and minority ... Report of the Committee of Investigation on the subject of the defalcations of Samuel Swartwout and others : ... also the report of the minority of the Committee.” Thomas Allen. 1839. Accessed online: https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/007704602
- United States Senate. “Presidential Election Campaign Fund of 1966.” https://www.finance.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/SPrt301.pdf
- Victor, Jennifer Nicoll, Phd. “History of Financing of Federal Campaigns in the US.” Wondrium Daily. July 25, 2021. https://www.wondriumdaily.com/history-of-financing-of-federal-campaigns-in-the-us/
- Woodward, Bob and Brian Duffy. “Chinese Embassy Role in Contributions Probed.” Washington Post. Feb. 13, 1997. https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/special/campfin/stories/china1.htm
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