The purpose of the volume Basic Documents in Federal Campaign Finance Law is to present that evolution of the meaning of money and politics in American governance, with a special focus on the regulations and norms which have shaped the current understanding of campaign finance in the United States. It is important to acknowledge the main reasons for federal legislation on campaign finance, its outcomes, and the ways in which issues have been challenged in the courts, focusing especially on the changing interpretations of the Supreme Court towards the issue. The book contains a short introduction to every important piece of legislation or Court decision, in which the authors have presented the background of the legislation and its main purposes and substance, as well as the facts leading to legal disputes over the legislation's constitutionality. Each introductory piece is followed by the most crucial excerpts from legislative acts or Supreme Court opinions on campaign finance, so that readers are able to analyze for themselves the substance and form of the regulations on the issue. According to the authors, all twenty nine documents presented in the volume (14 acts of Congress, and 15 Court decisions), should be considered the main legal source of the debate on the proper scope of money in federal election campaigns. Although most of the excerpts presented relate to federal laws, there are a few references to state laws when the issue at stake has a direct effect on the national discussion on campaign finance.