ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the historical roots of the continuing struggle for campaign finance reform, a struggle that reflects America's self-image as a nation "of the people, by the people, and for the people." It focuses on the present incarnation of campaign finance reform, and outlines a historical overview of money and politics. The chapter shows how the influence of money is never far from American presidential elections. The 19th-century belief that politics was corrupted by the influence of the "interests" was not based on unfounded rumor. After the death of Franklin Roosevelt, money and political influence were revived again in the 1952 controversy over Richard Nixon's "slush fund." Money in politics is suspect, linked to corruption; only by constructing an image of a personal morality could Nixon disarm his critics. With the advent of television advertising in the 1952 Dwight Eisenhower campaign, politics entered a new era where the need for massive amounts of money took on a new urgency.
