Special Interests: How Lobbyists Influence Legislation

In order to advance their various causes and concerns, these groups hire individuals or firms called lobbyists to work on their behalf to influence the decisions of state and federal lawmakers.

Lobbies have been a part of American history ever since Benjamin Franklin appealed to Britain’s Parliament to remove a tax on stamps in 1757. The right of any person or group to “petition the government for a redress of grievances” was and is protected by the first amendment, remembering the British g...