Citizens United v. FEC and the Triumph of Modern Conservatism Pubblico

Abstract

Free speech has consistently been a controversial topic in American political discourse. In 2010, however, the terms of that discourse changed entirely; the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. FEC in January of that same year misconstrued and misinterpreted not only centuries of established judicial precedent but also the United States’ fundamental political culture: one centered on protection against corruption, that finds its roots in the American founding and that persisted into the twentieth century. This thesis explores that political culture, traces its existence, and argues that the increasing conservatism of the Supreme Court’s membership over the course of the late twentieth century transformed American perceptions of free speech.

                                                                                         

Chapter One of this thesis traces a legal through-line of the most critical cases concerning political speech before the Supreme Court from the time of the Founding to the early twentieth century, in addition to the political philosophy undergirding the Framers’ understanding of corruption, free speech, and political speech. Chapter Two centers Buckley v. Valeo (1976) as a key moment in the history of First Amendment jurisprudence. Chapter Three addresses the origins of modern conservatism and its legal variants. Chapter Four addresses Citizens United itself: the Court’s rationale for its decision, the tell-tale signs of neoliberal legal thought in it, and the public responses the decision garnered. Ultimately, this thesis constructs a political through-line, however disjointed over the course of several centuries, in a case that is often depicted as “shocking” in legal, political, and historical realms of scholarship.

Table of Contents

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………1

Chapter 1: Corruption, Confusion, and Common Sense……………………….……....6

Chapter 2: Buckley Bucks…………………………………………….………………….......16

Chapter 3: The Rightward Turn.……………………………………….……………..…….32

Chapter 4: The Triumph of the Conservative Will…………………….……….……….54

Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………...….68

Bibliography…………………………………………………………………………….….......72

Appendix…………………………………………………………………………….…............77

 

About this Honors Thesis

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School	Emory College
Department	History
Degree	B.A.
Submission	Honors Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Law Political Science, General History, Modern
Parola chiave	Campaign Finance Supreme Court American History
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	LaChance, Daniel, Emory University
Committee Members	Allitt, Patrick, Emory University Owen, Judd, Emory University

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