"Everybody's organized but the people. Now it's the citizens' turn." John Gardner, 1972 speech In the summer of 1970, Gardner took what he called "the biggest gamble of my career," and founded Common Cause, a citizen's advocacy group. In his work in government and in the Urban Coalition, Gardner saw that there were a lot of strong special interests, but no one pushing for the concerns of average citizens interested in the greater good. With disenchantment in government growing, Gardner's idea was planted in very fertile soil, and in 23 weeks, 100,000 people signed on to Common Cause's mission to make political institutions more open and accountable.   Video from the film:Gardner Founds Common Cause But before he could focus on governmental reform, the membership in Common Cause urged Gardner to speak out against the war in Vietnam. He did, and Common Cause joined groups in pressuring President Nixon to remove American troops from that country. While ending the war in Southeast Asia was one of Common Cause's policy goals, the organization focused its efforts not on what government did, but how it did it. Common Cause became one of the staunchest advocates of campaign finance reform. In 1971, they sued both the Democratic and Republican parties for violating campaign fundraising and spending limits, and began to push federal and state governments to open up legislative hearings and governmental decision-making. Common Cause's crusade did not go unnoticed. After the group sued President Nixon's re-election campaign, John Gardner was put on his infamous "enemies list." After the Watergate scandal and various abuses of power by the Nixon Administration came to light, Common Cause was instrumental in getting the landmark campaign finance reform legislation of 1974 passed which put in place limits on contributions and disclosure requirements for campaigns.   Learn more about The Wategate Scandal   Learn more about Campaign Finance Reform: Then and Now Campaign finance reform has been on the national agenda ever since, and Common Cause has been one of the most vocal advocates. Yet, campaign finance reform is not without its critics. Some say it limits the right of citizens to express their political views. Others say that it favors the two major political parties over other candidates. No matter what one thinks about campaign finance reform, it has become one of the most important issues in American political debate, an issue that John Gardner helped put on the national agenda.   Video from the film:Gardner Speaks at Common Cause Anniversary Celebration   Learn more about The Rise of the Citizen Groups A Son of the West | Call to Action | Education and Excellence Engineer of the Great Society | Tackling the Problems of Urban America Common Cause | Empowering Communities HOME | WRITINGS | GARDNER'S GROUPS | MULTIMEDIA | MAKING THE FILM | CLASSROOM Site credits 1970 John Gardner founds Common Cause, a citizens advocacy group 1971 Congress passes initial campaign reform bill 1972 Five men arrested breaking into Democratic Headquarters at the Watergate; Nixon re-elected President   John Gardner writes "In Common Cause" to explain the aims of his new organizations 1974 Nixon resigns the Presidency   Common Cause leads the fight and helps win the passage of historic campaign finance reform legislation   John Gardner wins JFK Profiles in Courage Award 1975 Last American troops leave Vietnam   With his daughter Francesca, John Gardner publishes "Quotations of Wit and Wisdom" 1978 Common Cause plays leading role in fighting for Ethics in Government Act