Capture lane

Democratic Erosion

The Democratic Erosion capture lane traces 522 verified events documenting this mechanism of institutional capture.

522 events From Jan 1, 1142 To Jun 18, 2026 Open in filter view →
Top 10 actors in this lane 10 actors · 1142–2026
Top actors in Democratic Erosion114511501155116011651170117511801185119011951200120512101215122012251230123512401245125012551260126512701275128012851290129513001305131013151320132513301335134013451350135513601365137013751380138513901395140014051410141514201425143014351440144514501455146014651470147514801485149014951500150515101515152015251530153515401545155015551560156515701575158015851590159516001605161016151620162516301635164016451650165516601665167016751680168516901695170017051710171517201725173017351740174517501755176017651770177517801785179017951800180518101815182018251830183518401845185018551860186518701875188018851890189519001905191019151920192519301935194019451950195519601965197019751980198519901995200020052010201520202025WatergateReaganIran-Contra9/11Citizens UnitedTrump 1.0Trump 2.0Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)141 eventsDonald Trump1415 eventsDHS (Department of Homeland Security)65 eventsDepartment of Justice337 eventsKristi Noem99 eventsImmigration and Naturalization ServiceU.S. Supreme Court156 eventsPam Bondi164 eventsAmerican Civil Liberties UnionU.S. Border Patrol
Capture lanecorruptiondemocraticexecutivefinancialintelligencejudiciallaborlegislativemediamilitaryotherregulatory Status confirmed alleged disputed
DateEventLanesStatus
2004-01-22DC Opportunity Scholarship Program - First Federally-Funded School Voucher System 3 src
George W. Bush · Heritage Foundation · American Federation for Children
confirmed
2002-10-25WHIG Coordinates Post-Vote Intelligence Suppression Campaign 3 src
White House Iraq Group · Dick Cheney · Karl Rove · Condoleezza Rice · +3
confirmed
2002-06-27Zelman v. Simmons-Harris - Supreme Court Upholds School Vouchers for Religious Schools 3 src
William Rehnquist · Sandra Day O'Connor · Clarence Thomas · Institute for Justice · +1
confirmed
2000-01-01ALEC Membership Reaches 2,000+ State Legislators - Represents One-Quarter to One-Third of All State Legislators Nationwide 5 src
American Legislative Exchange Council
confirmed
2000-01-01Indigenous Consensus Decision-Making: A Democratic Innovation Framework 3 src confirmed
1999-08-09Putin Appointed Prime Minister by Yeltsin 3 src
Vladimir Putin · Boris Yeltsin
confirmed
1998-10-01Electronic Industries Alliance Blacklisting - K Street Project Enforcement 3 src
Tom DeLay · Newt Gingrich · Jack Abramoff · Grover Norquist
confirmed
1998-04-01American Petroleum Institute Drafts Secret Climate Denial Strategy Document 3 src
American Petroleum Institute · ExxonMobil · Chevron
confirmed
1994-11-08Republicans Win Historic Midterm Election with Contract with America 3 src
Newt Gingrich · Dick Armey · Richard Mellon Scaife · Joseph Coors · +1
confirmed
1994-07-01Wackenhut Corrections (Later GEO Group) Goes Public on NASDAQ, Second Major Private Prison Company Enters Wall Street 3 src
GEO Group · Wackenhut Corporation · Nasdaq
confirmed
1992-11-03Oregon Voters Defeat Measure 9, Anti-LGBTQ Constitutional Amendment Backed by Christian Right 4 src
Christian Coalition
confirmed
1992-10-29FDA Prescription Drug User Fee Act Creates Financial Dependence on Pharmaceutical Industry 3 src
Food and Drug Administration · PhRMA · U.S. Congress
confirmed
1990-03-27Milwaukee Parental Choice Program Creates First Publicly-Funded Private School Vouchers 3 src
Bradley Foundation
confirmed
1988-01-01Maxwell Acquires Macmillan Publishers, Expanding US Media Empire at Massive Cost 3 src
Robert Maxwell
confirmed
1987-09-16Senate Resolution Acknowledges Haudenosaunee Influence on Constitution During Bicentennial Celebrations 2 src
U.S. Senate · Haudenosaunee Confederacy
confirmed
1987-01-01Wackenhut Corrections Wins First Federal Immigration Detention Contract in Aurora, Colorado 4 src
Wackenhut Corporation · Immigration and Naturalization Service · Reagan Administration
confirmed
1986-10-01Corrections Corporation of America Goes Public on NASDAQ at $9 Per Share, Wall Street Bets on Mass Incarceration 3 src
Corrections Corporation of America · Thomas W. Beasley · Nasdaq
confirmed
1984-01-22First Fully Privatized Prison Opens in Houston Under CCA Contract with Immigration and Naturalization Service 3 src
Corrections Corporation of America · Immigration and Naturalization Service · Thomas W. Beasley
confirmed
1983-01-28Corrections Corporation of America Founded in Nashville, Launching Modern Private Prison Industry 3 src
Thomas W. Beasley · Corrections Corporation of America
confirmed
1982-01-01Federalist Society Founded to Capture Conservative Legal Pipeline 3 src
Steven Calabresi · David McIntosh · Lee Liberman Otis · Yale Law School
confirmed
1980-01-01Banking Industry Launches Systematic Campaign to Erode Glass-Steagall Act 3 src
Federal Reserve Board · Alan Greenspan
confirmed
1979-06-01Falwell and Weyrich Found Moral Majority, Fusing Religious Right with Corporate Agenda 3 src
Jerry Falwell · Paul Weyrich · Richard Viguerie · Howard Phillips · +1
confirmed
1978-12-31Corporate Lobbying Presence Quintuples in Washington DC 3 src
U.S. Chamber of Commerce · Lewis Powell
confirmed
1978-01-01Jude Wanniski Publishes "The Way the World Works," Supply-Side Economics Manifesto 2 src
Jude Wanniski · Arthur Laffer · Wall Street Journal
confirmed
1978-01-01Robert Bork Publishes "The Antitrust Paradox," Revolutionizing Corporate Power 3 src
Robert Bork · Aaron Director · Chicago School of Economics
confirmed
1977-01-01Charles Koch Founds Cato Institute with $500,000, Expanding Libertarian Infrastructure 3 src
Charles Koch · Murray Rothbard · Koch Industries
confirmed
1977-01-01Milton Friedman Begins Development of "Free to Choose" PBS Series on Free Markets 4 src
Milton Friedman
confirmed
1977-01-01William E. Simon Becomes Olin Foundation President, Launching Strategic Conservative Funding 2 src
John M. Olin · John M. Olin Foundation
confirmed
1975-04-28Church Committee Exposes Psychological Manipulation Techniques in Government Operations 4 src
Frank Church · Central Intelligence Agency · Intelligence Community · National Security Agency
confirmed
1975-01-01Paul Weyrich Becomes First Director of ALEC, Consolidating State Legislative Strategy 3 src
Paul Weyrich · American Legislative Exchange Council · Henry Hyde
confirmed
1974-12-01Arthur Laffer Sketches Curve on Napkin with Rumsfeld and Cheney, Creating Supply-Side Icon 2 src
Arthur Laffer · Jude Wanniski · Donald Rumsfeld · Dick Cheney
confirmed
1974-01-01American Enterprise Institute Establishes Center for Health Policy Research 2 src
American Enterprise Institute
confirmed
1974-01-01Richard Butler Establishes Aryan Nations Compound in Hayden Lake, Idaho 11 src
Ku Klux Klan
confirmed
1974-01-01Richard Scaife Begins Major Funding of Heritage Foundation as Primary Donor 3 src
Richard Mellon Scaife · Heritage Foundation · Paul Weyrich · Edwin Feulner
confirmed
1974-01-01Weyrich Founds Committee for the Survival of a Free Congress, Expanding Infrastructure 2 src
Paul Weyrich · Joseph Coors
confirmed
1973-06-25Opus Dei: Canonical Recognition and Unique Ecclesiastical Status 3 src confirmed
1973-02-16Heritage Foundation Founded by Conservative Activists and Business Leaders 3 src
Paul Weyrich · Edwin Feulner · Joseph Coors · Heritage Foundation
confirmed
1973-01-22Supreme Court Decides Roe v. Wade, Triggering Conservative Backlash and Mobilization 2 src
U.S. Supreme Court
confirmed
1973-01-01Paul Weyrich Begins Official Coalition Meetings, Coordinating Conservative Movement 3 src
Paul Weyrich · Edwin Feulner · Joseph Coors · Richard Viguerie
confirmed
1970-04-22First Earth Day Mobilizes 20 Million Americans, Launches Modern Environmental Movement 3 src
Richard Nixon
confirmed
1970-01-01John Olin Activates Foundation to Fund Law and Economics Programs at Elite Universities 3 src
John M. Olin · John M. Olin Foundation
confirmed
1970-01-01Maxwell Establishes Eastern Bloc Scientific Literature Publishing Network 3 src
Robert Maxwell
confirmed
1970-01-01Richard Viguerie Pioneers Computerized Direct Mail, Revolutionizing Conservative Fundraising 3 src
Richard Viguerie · Paul Weyrich · Howard Phillips · Terry Dolan
confirmed
1969-12-04FBI and Chicago Police Assassinate Black Panther Leader Fred Hampton in Pre-Dawn Raid 3 src
J. Edgar Hoover · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Chicago Police Department · Black Panther Party
confirmed
1968-06-05Robert F. Kennedy Assassinated in Los Angeles After California Primary Victory 3 src
Federal Bureau of Investigation · LAPD
confirmed
1968-03-01Kerner Commission Report Identifying White Racism as Riot Cause Rejected by LBJ and Ignored Sparking Law-and-Order Backlash 4 src
Lyndon B. Johnson · Richard Nixon
confirmed
1967-07-28Reagan Signs Mulford Act Gun Control Law With NRA Support to Disarm Black Panthers Armed Patrols 4 src
Ronald Reagan · National Rifle Association · Black Panther Party · California State Legislature
confirmed
1966-07-04Freedom of Information Act Signed After Decade of Executive Branch Opposition 3 src
Lyndon B. Johnson
confirmed
1966-06-13Miranda v. Arizona Decision Requiring Rights Warnings Sparks Law Enforcement Backlash and Conservative Law-and-Order Politics 4 src
U.S. Supreme Court · Earl Warren · Richard Nixon
confirmed
1966-01-01Wackenhut Corporation Acquires HUAC Staffer's Files, Claims Dossiers on 4+ Million Americans 4 src
Wackenhut Corporation · House Un-American Activities Committee
confirmed
1964-06-21Mississippi Burning Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner During Freedom Summer Voter Registration 3 src
Ku Klux Klan · Federal Bureau of Investigation
confirmed
1963-10-10Attorney General Robert Kennedy Authorizes FBI Wiretapping of Martin Luther King Jr. 3 src
J. Edgar Hoover · Martin Luther King Jr. · Federal Bureau of Investigation
confirmed
1962-12-31William Volker Fund Closes After Financing Chicago School and Mont Pelerin Society 3 src
Hoover Institution · Aaron Director · Milton Friedman · Murray Rothbard
confirmed
1958-11-04AFL-CIO Defeats Right-to-Work Campaigns in Five of Six States, Major Democratic Resistance Victory 3 src
AFL-CIO · National Right to Work Committee
confirmed
1957-06-17Yates v. United States Limits Smith Act Prosecutions, Supreme Court Begins Retreat from McCarthyism 6 src
Earl Warren · U.S. Supreme Court · Communist Party USA · Department of Justice
confirmed
1957-03-01Indiana Passes Right-to-Work Law, So Unpopular It's Repealed Within Eight Years 3 src
Republican Party · Democratic Party · National Right to Work Committee
confirmed
1956-11-13Supreme Court Affirms Montgomery Bus Segregation Unconstitutional, Boycott Ends in Victory 3 src
Martin Luther King Jr. · U.S. Supreme Court · NAACP Legal Defense Fund
confirmed
1956-08-28FBI Director Hoover Launches COINTELPRO to Target Communist Party and Domestic Dissent 6 src
J. Edgar Hoover · Federal Bureau of Investigation · Communist Party USA
confirmed
1954-04-22Army-McCarthy Hearings Begin as Military Charges Senator with Improper Pressure for Aide 3 src
Joseph McCarthy · Roy Cohn · U.S. Army · Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations
confirmed
1952-01-01Hollywood Blacklist Reaches Peak with Over 300 Industry Professionals Banned 3 src
House Un-American Activities Committee · American Legion · Federal Bureau of Investigation · J. Edgar Hoover
confirmed
1950-06-22Red Channels Published, Launching Broadcasting Blacklist and Corporate "Smear and Clear" Racket 3 src
NBC · CBS
confirmed
1947-11-25Waldorf Statement Launches Hollywood Blacklist, Studio Executives Pledge to Fire Hollywood Ten 3 src
Paramount Pictures
confirmed
1947-10-20HUAC Hollywood Hearings Begin, Studio Executives Cooperate as "Friendly Witnesses" 6 src
House Un-American Activities Committee · Ronald Reagan
confirmed
1947-04-10Mont Pelerin Society Founded with Volker Fund Support, Launching International Free-Market Network 3 src
Milton Friedman
confirmed
1946-05-01Operation Dixie Launched to Unionize the South, Met with Violent Corporate Resistance 3 src
Congress of Industrial Organizations · United Auto Workers · Ku Klux Klan
confirmed
1946-01-01National Association of Manufacturers Launches Massive Anti-Union Propaganda Campaign After Strike Wave 7 src
National Association of Manufacturers · General Motors · U.S. Steel · General Electric · +2
confirmed
1945-01-03HUAC Made Permanent Standing Committee, Institutionalizes Political Persecution 3 src
U.S. House of Representatives · House Un-American Activities Committee
confirmed
1944-07-21Democratic Convention Ousts Henry Wallace, Party Bosses Install Truman 3 src
Harry Truman · Franklin D. Roosevelt · Democratic National Committee
confirmed
1943-01-01American Enterprise Association Moves to Washington to Oppose New Deal, Precursor to AEI Think Tank 3 src
Eli Lilly
confirmed
1928-08-27Kellogg-Briand Pact Outlaws War While Preserving Imperial Prerogatives 3 src
Calvin Coolidge · U.S. Senate
confirmed
1919-11-07Palmer Raids Begin: Attorney General and J. Edgar Hoover Arrest 6,000 in 36 Cities, Deport 249 on "Soviet Ark" 4 src
A. Mitchell Palmer · J. Edgar Hoover · U.S. Department of Justice
confirmed
1919-07-27Red Summer: Chicago Race Riot Erupts as White Mobs Attack Black Neighborhoods, 38 Killed 3 src
Chicago Police Department
confirmed
1919-03-03Schenck v. United States: Supreme Court Creates 'Clear and Present Danger' Test, Upholds Espionage Act Convictions 3 src
Supreme Court of the United States · Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.
confirmed
1918-09-14Eugene V. Debs Sentenced to Ten Years for Antiwar Speech, Runs for President from Prison 3 src
Eugene V. Debs · Woodrow Wilson
confirmed
1917-08-01Frank Little Lynched: IWW Executive Board Member Murdered by Vigilantes in Butte 3 src
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) · Anaconda Copper Mining Company
confirmed
1917-07-28War Industries Board Established: Bernard Baruch and "Dollar-a-Year Men" Institutionalize Corporate-Government Fusion 3 src
Woodrow Wilson · U.S. War Department
confirmed
1917-07-12Bisbee Deportation: Phelps Dodge and Vigilantes Illegally Deport 1,300 Striking Miners 3 src
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
confirmed
1917-06-15Espionage Act Signed: Wilson Criminalizes Antiwar Speech, Targets IWW Labor Organizers and Socialists 4 src
Woodrow Wilson · Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) · Eugene V. Debs
confirmed
1917-04-13Committee on Public Information Created: Wilson Establishes Federal Propaganda Machine 3 src
Woodrow Wilson
confirmed
1916-11-05Everett Massacre: Lumber Company Vigilantes Kill IWW Members at City Dock 3 src
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
confirmed
1915-11-25KKK Revived at Stone Mountain Cross Burning: Simmons Coordinates with Birth of a Nation Premiere 3 src
William J. Simmons · Ku Klux Klan
confirmed
1915-02-08Birth of a Nation Premieres in Los Angeles: Groundbreaking Film Glorifies KKK, Depicts Black Americans as Evil 4 src
Woodrow Wilson · William J. Simmons · Ku Klux Klan
confirmed
1915-01-25Rockefeller Testifies Before Walsh Commission: Three Days of Public Humiliation Over Ludlow Massacre 6 src
John D. Rockefeller Jr.
confirmed
1914-10-15Clayton Antitrust Act Signed: Labor Unions Exempted from Antitrust Laws, Gompers Calls It Labor's Magna Carta 4 src
Woodrow Wilson · Samuel Gompers · American Federation of Labor
confirmed
1913-10-03Underwood Tariff Slashes Corporate Protection, Establishes Modern Income Tax After 16th Amendment 4 src
Woodrow Wilson · Democratic Party
confirmed
1913-04-11Wilson Administration Segregates Federal Government: Jim Crow Comes to Washington 3 src
Woodrow Wilson · NAACP
confirmed
1913-04-0817th Amendment Ratified: Direct Election of Senators Ends State Legislature Appointments and Deadlock Corruption 3 src
U.S. Congress
confirmed
1913-02-25Paterson Silk Strike: IWW Leads 25,000 Workers in Five-Month Struggle Against Textile Manufacturers 3 src
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) · John Reed
confirmed
1913-02-0316th Amendment Ratified: Federal Income Tax Established to Shift Burden from Middle Class to Wealthy 3 src
U.S. Congress
confirmed
1912-08-07Theodore Roosevelt Forms Bull Moose Party After GOP Convention Theft: Republican Split Ensures Wilson Victory 4 src
Theodore Roosevelt · William Howard Taft · Woodrow Wilson · Republican National Committee
confirmed
1912-04-18Paint Creek-Cabin Creek Mine War: West Virginia Declares Martial Law, Mother Jones Imprisoned 3 src
United Mine Workers of America
confirmed
1912-01-12Lawrence "Bread and Roses" Strike: IWW Unites 20,000 Workers Across 51 Nationalities, Wins 15% Raise 3 src
Industrial Workers of the World (IWW)
confirmed
1910-03-19Insurgent Republicans Revolt Against Speaker Cannon: 29-Hour Session Strips Autocratic Powers, Splits GOP 4 src
William Howard Taft
confirmed
1909-08-05Payne-Aldrich Tariff Betrays Progressive Promises: Taft Praises "Best Tariff Bill," Splits Republican Party 4 src
William Howard Taft
confirmed
1902-01-01Water Cure Torture Scandal - Senate Investigation Exposes Systematic Abuse 3 src
Theodore Roosevelt · William Howard Taft
confirmed
1901-09-28Balangiga Massacre Triggers Samar Pacification - Scorched Earth Retaliation 3 src
Theodore Roosevelt
confirmed
1901-03-02Platt Amendment Enacted - Cuba Becomes U.S. Protectorate 3 src
William McKinley · Elihu Root
confirmed
1900-06-20Boxer Rebellion - Eight-Nation Alliance Invasion Enforces Imperial Control 3 src
William McKinley
confirmed
1899-09-06Open Door Policy Announced - Corporate Imperialism Disguised as Free Trade 3 src
William McKinley
confirmed
1899-02-04Philippine-American War Begins - Liberation Becomes Brutal Occupation 3 src
William McKinley
confirmed