Campaign Finance Reform, No. 1021 January 13, 2012, 05:36 AM

A California politician once famously observed: ‘‘Money is the Mother’s Milk of Politics.’’ For at least a century, the Congress has tried to legislate against this dictum.

Cable Television Regulation January 13, 2012, 04:50 AM

Cable television regulation began in the late 1940s and 1950s primarily as a local matter. The first cable systems needed easements to construct facilities on public and private land.

Broadcast Regulation January 11, 2012, 12:57 PM

The history of broadcast regulation affords a unique civil liberties perspective because it is the sole example of a government agency created to supervise the press.

Blaine Amendment December 1, 2011, 01:31 PM

The Blaine amendment was a proposed 1876 amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Structure Bill of Rights December 1, 2011, 12:41 PM

The structure of the American Bill of Rights reflects its eighteenth-century origins. The framers of the Constitution did not include a bill of rights because they honestly believed that one was unnecessary.

Bills of Rights in Early State Constitutions December 1, 2011, 12:24 PM

State constitution making began during the Revolution. By 1787, when delegates from twelve of the original thirteen states (Rhode Island never sent any delegates) met in Philadelphia to write the national constitution, eleven of the first thirteen states had written constitutions.

Becker Amendment November 22, 2011, 03:28 AM

The Becker amendment was one of the more significant congressional attempts to overturn an unpopular holding of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Antipolygamy Laws November 1, 2011, 02:27 PM

In the United States antipolygamy laws were exclusively aimed at the polygamous practices of the nineteenth- century Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (the Mormons) which began to publicly practice and advocate polygamy in 1852.

Anti-Anarchy and Anti-Syndicalism Statutes November 1, 2011, 02:00 PM

From the ‘‘Salem witch trials’’ to the criminal prosecutions that constitute part of the government’s ‘‘war on terror,’’ American criminal law has been used to stamp out threats, perceived or actual, to federal and state governments.

American Indian Religious Freedom Act of 1978 October 18, 2011, 05:52 AM

Congress announced that the policy of the United States was to ‘‘protect and preserve’’ the rights of American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Native Hawaiians ‘‘to believe, express, and exercise’’ their ‘‘traditional religions’’ in a joint resolution adopted in 1978, now known as the American Indian Religious Freedom Act (AIRFA).

Alien and Sedition Acts (1798) October 13, 2011, 09:54 AM

Sedition may be defined as any illegal action tending to cause the disruption or overthrow of the government.

Adolescent Family Life Act October 13, 2011, 08:55 AM

In 1981, Congress enacted the Adolescent Family Life Demonstration Grants Act (AFLA) in response to the severe social and economic consequences that often follow pregnancy and childbirth among unmarried adolescents.

Abortion Laws and the Establishment Clause October 10, 2011, 02:43 PM

A defining principle of the United States is the separation between church and state.