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The Tillman Act of 1907

Back in the day on January 26th, 1907, the United States Congress passed the Tillman Act. The legislation was aimed at campaign finance reform as it forbade direct contributions made by corporations and national banks to federal electoral campaigns. President Theodore Roosevelt had sought out the ban and ironically his arch-nemesis Senator Benjamin Tillman responded by sponsoring the bill. Known as “Pitchfork Ben” the lawmaker from Southern California was an outlandish white supremacist who, despite his ulterior motives, nevertheless placed limits on the notion of “corporate personhood” through the legislation. Unfortunately, the Tillman Act had weak enforcement mechanisms as corporate executives found numerous loopholes by which they could still funnel massive contributions to their favored political candidate and influence electoral outcomes. Subsequent attempts to regulate campaign finance reform continued throughout the century.

In a Supreme Court decision issued just last week, such financial institutions were given first amendment right protections by a 5-4 vote. “Democracy” is now for whole sale…

For Uprising, this is your truth professa’ saying it’s no mystery why they conceal our people’s history