Corrupt Practices Act of 1925
The Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 was a significant piece of legislation aimed at increasing transparency in campaign finance and reducing corruption within the political system at the congressional level in the United States. Emerging from the Progressive Era's concerns about the influence of wealthy corporations on government, the Act followed earlier attempts at reform, including the Tillman Act of 1907. Initially passed in 1910, it was amended in 1925 to regulate financial contributions and expenditures specifically for elections to the House of Representatives and the Senate. The Act set spending limits—$5,000 for House candidates and $25,000 for Senate candidates—and mandated the reporting of contributions and expenditures exceeding $100. While it prohibited bribery and direct corporate donations, the Act faced challenges in effectively curbing corporate influence, as it allowed for numerous indirect contributions. Compliance with reporting was largely voluntary, undermining its enforcement. Despite its limitations, key provisions of the Act were upheld by the Supreme Court in the 1930s and 1940s, reinforcing its role in campaign finance regulation until its repeal in 1971. The complexity of the Corrupt Practices Act reflects ongoing tensions in American politics regarding money and influence.
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Subject Terms
Corrupt Practices Act of 1925
Identification: The Law: Federal legislation restricting campaign spending for congressional candidates
Date: Enacted on February 28, 1925
Also known as: Federal Corrupt Practices Act; Publicity Act
It became obvious as early as the late nineteenth century that an unduly close relationship existed between wealthy corporations and American government. A reflection of the Progressive period, the Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 was designed to enhance the transparency of campaign finance and lessen corruption in the political system on the congressional level.
In the early twentieth century, Congress began a number of attempts to bring honesty and fairness to congressional election campaigns by regulating candidates’ use of money. The Corrupt Practices Act was passed initially in 1910, in part due to the inadequacies of the Tillman Act of 1907, a prior campaign finance law that prohibited direct corporate campaign donations. Well-publicized incidents of political corruption, such as the Teapot Dome scandal in 1922, also gave the National Publicity Law Organization and other reform groups reason to advocate for increased regulation of political campaigns.
The Corrupt Practices Act was amended in 1925 to apply to general elections for the House of Representatives and the Senate. (The 1921 Supreme Court decision in Newberry v. United States barred regulation of primaries.) Campaign expenditures for the House of Representatives were capped at $5,000, and those for the Senate were capped at $25,000. The act also required quarterly reports disclosing expenditures and contributions of more than $100. Bribery, patronage, and direct corporate donations were all prohibited under the act.
Impact
The Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 was ineffectual in eliminating attempts to influence candidates for congressional office. Candidates could still legally receive huge sums of money from corporate donors through many smaller employee contributions. In addition, no financial limits applied to a company publicly making known the favorable characteristics of a particular individual seeking public office. Compliance with the act’s disclosure requirements was largely voluntary, as it lacked specific reporting procedures and enforcement mechanisms.
However, when segments of the law were challenged before the Supreme Court, they were upheld. The court maintained the reporting requirements of the act in Burroughs v. United States (1934) and spending limits for both primary and general elections in United States v. Classic (1941). The Corrupt Practices Act of 1925 thus continued to serve as the major attempt to regulate congressional candidates’ campaigns until its repeal in 1971.
Bibliography
Allen, Frederick Lewis. Only Yesterday: An Informal History of the Nineteen-Twenties. New York: Perennial Classics, 2000.
Corrado, Anthony, et al., eds. Campaign Finance Reform: A Sourcebook. Washington, D.C.: Brookings Institution, 1997.
Thayer, George. Who Shakes the Money Tree? American Campaign Financing Practices from 1789 to the Present. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974.