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The best answer I can come up with is that there was significant pressure applied by the American public who were becoming angry with politicians due to the increased corporate influence on politics and the corruption that follows it. After Theodore Roosevelt was implicated after accepting a donation (something like $25,000) he added it to his platform and vowed that if elected he would pass a law that made it illegal for corporations to contribute to political campaigns. He was elected and he made good on his promise and pressured congress into passing the Tillman Act of 1907 which made it illegal for corporations to contribute to political elections (they could still contribute to primaries however). Since the mid 70s though corporate influence on politics has increased dramatically to the point that the Supreme Court in Citizens United v. The Federal Election Commission 2010 decided that it is unconstitutional (violation of the 1st ammend) to ban corporations, associations, and unions from donating funds to political campaigns. Meaning that now corporate influence on politics is at an all time high.

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12y ago
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10y ago

soft money was going into political campaigns

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Q: Why was campaign finance reform initiated in the early 1900s?
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