If you want to understand American lobbying today, you should research the way it was done in earlier times. A great place to start is the late 19th century; a time when there weren't any rules; a time when the only limits to a lobbyist's repertoire of tricks was their imagination. This work examines six issues and the advocacy practices adopted by lobbyists beginning in the Gilded Age and running through the administration of Franklin Roosevelt. The issues were divisive and generated plenty of heat. The tools and mechanisms were controversial and occasionally scandalous. In the absence of laws and regulations, these became standard tools in the lobbyist's box of gadgets. They also became the foundation of modern lobbying practice. This work will be interesting to students of the US government, particularly those interested in the US Congress, lobbying and interest group politics. It will likely generate interest among lobbying practitioners around the world.
Dr Steven Billet currently serves the University of Notre Dame, USA, as a professor of Legislative Politics in their Washington Semester Program. From 2005 to 2021, he directed the Master's in Legislative Affairs at the George Washington University's Graduate School of Political Management (GSPM), USA. He created and managed a graduate certificate program in PAC Management and negotiated and managed a graduate program for the US Army Congressional Fellows. For nearly twenty years before moving to GWU, he worked as a lobbyist for AT&T at the state, national and international levels. His positions included Director of Government Affairs for Maryland and Delaware. In 1988 Dr Billet moved to Brussels, where he directed the creation and operation of AT&T's public affairs organization for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). Upon returning to the US in 1993, he directed the legislative effort for AT&T on GATT and NAFTA. He also managed the AT&T PAC along with advocacy for part of the US Congress. He holds a PhD from the University of Notre Dame.
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