Campaign finance has been a problem in American politics for 140 years, dating back to the Naval Appropriations Bill in 1867.
In the 1800s, people who wanted a position in government could openly donate to a politician running for office with the understanding that if the candidate won, they would be rewarded with a job. People still contribute their services in the hopes of getting a job in the administration of the candidate they support. So, what's changed?
Since 1867, fifteen federal laws have been adopted in an effort to regulate the flow of money from private interests to politicians and presumably to level the playing field for candidates. (Source: campaignfinancesite.org):
1867: The Naval Appropriations Bill "prohibited officers and employees of the government from soliciting money from naval yardworkers."
1883: The Civil Service Reform Act "extended the above rule to all federal civil service worker(s)..."
1905: Teddy Roosevelt's Message to Congress, in which he proposed that "(a)ll contributions by corporations to any political committee or for any political purpose should be forbidden by law."
1907: The Tillman Act "prohibited corporations and nationally chartered (interstate) banks from making direct financial contributions to federal candidates."
1910-11: The Federal Corrupt Practices Act - established disclosure requirements for U.S. House and Senatorial candidates.
1925: The Federal Corrupt Practices Act (Revised)
1940: Hatch Act Amendments "set limits if $5,000 per year on individual contributions to a federal candidate or political committee..."
1943: The Smith-Connally Act "extended to unions the prohibition on contributions to federal candidates from corporations and interstate banks..."
1944: The "first political action committee (PAC) was formed by Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)...to raise money for re-election of" FDR.
1947: The Taft-Hartley Act "made permanent the ban on contributions to federal candidates from unions, corporations, and interstate banks..."
1967: House Campaign Financial Reports (were) collected for (the) First Time.
1971: The Federal Election Campaign Act: "...created (a) comprehensive framework for regulation of federal campaign financing of primaries, runoffs, general elections, and conventions."
1971: The Revenue Act "created public campaign fund for eligible presidential candidates..."
1974: FECA Amendments (Post-Watergate) "provided (the) option of full public financing for presidential general elections, matching funds for presidential primaries, and public funds for presidential nominating conventions -- Set spending limits for presidential primaries and general elections, and for House and Senate primaries."
1976: Buckley v. Aleo challenged restrictions in FECA as unconstitutional violations of free speech...
1979 : FECA Amendments "increased amount volunteers could contribute in-kind (use of home, food, vehicle) from $500 to $1,000 -- Raised threshold for reporting contributions..."
2002: The most recent effort to reform campaign finance is the McCain-Feingold bill, named for "its primary sponsors, Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Russell Feingold (D-WI)," which bans soft money -- "unlimited contributions to the national political parties for 'party-building' activities." (opensecrets.org, What's The Issue?, 1/19/05).
Other provisions of the bill ban "ads within 60 days of a general election that are paid for by outside groups and identify a particular candidate. Additionally, the legislation requires groups spending more than $10,000 a year on TV ads to disclose who paid for them."
