<P> Although attempts to regulate campaign finance by legislation date back to 1867 , the modern era of `` campaign finance reform '' in the United States begins with the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act ( FECA ) of 1971 and , more importantly , 1974 amendments to that Act . The 1971 FECA required candidates to disclose sources of campaign contributions and campaign expenditures . The 1974 Amendments essentially rewrote the Act from top to bottom . The 1974 Amendments placed statutory limits on contributions by individuals for the first time , and created the Federal Election Commission ( FEC ) as an independent enforcement agency . It provided for broad new disclosure requirements , and limited the amounts that candidates could spend on their campaigns , or that citizens could spend separate from candidate campaigns to promote their political views . Specifically , it attempted to restrict the influence of wealthy individuals by limiting individual donations to $1,000 and donations by political action committees ( PACs ) to $5,000 . However , the Act 's provisions limiting expenditures were struck down as unconstitutional in the 1976 Supreme Court decision Buckley v. Valeo . </P>
<P> Although attempts to regulate campaign finance by legislation date back to 1867 , the modern era of `` campaign finance reform '' in the United States begins with the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act ( FECA ) of 1971 and , more importantly , 1974 amendments to that Act . The 1971 FECA required candidates to disclose sources of campaign contributions and campaign expenditures . The 1974 Amendments essentially rewrote the Act from top to bottom . The 1974 Amendments placed statutory limits on contributions by individuals for the first time , and created the Federal Election Commission ( FEC ) as an independent enforcement agency . It provided for broad new disclosure requirements , and limited the amounts that candidates could spend on their campaigns , or that citizens could spend separate from candidate campaigns to promote their political views . Specifically , it attempted to restrict the influence of wealthy individuals by limiting individual donations to $1,000 and donations by political action committees ( PACs ) to $5,000 . However , the Act 's provisions limiting expenditures were struck down as unconstitutional in the 1976 Supreme Court decision Buckley v. Valeo . </P>
when did modern campaign finance regulation in the united states begin
when did modern campaign finance regulation in the united states begin
1971
1971