In The Teapot Dome Scandal, acclaimed author Laton McCartney tells the amazing, complex, and at times ribald story of how Big Oil handpicked Warren G. Harding, an obscure Ohio senator, to serve
as our twenty-third president. Harding and his so-called 'oil cabinet' made it possible for the oilmen to secure vast oil reserves that had been set aside for use by the U.S. Navy. In exchange,
the oilmen paid off senior government officials, bribed newspaper publishers, and covered the GOP campaign debt. When news of the scandal finally emerged, the consequences were disastrous for
the nation and for the principles in the plot to bilk the taxpayers: Harding's administration was hamstrung; Americans' confidence in their government plummeted; Secretary of the Interior
Albert Fall was indicted, convicted, and incarcerated; and others implicated in the affair suffered similarly dire fates. Stonewalling by members of Harding's circle kept a lid on the
story--witnesses developed 'faulty' memories or fled the country, and important documents went missing--but contemporary records newly made available to McCartney reveal a shocking, revelatory
picture of just how far-reaching the affair was, how high the stakes, and how powerful the conspirators.--From publisher description.A study of the 1922 Teapot Dome oil scandal discusses the
role of the Harding administration in manipulating political power to promote the interests of powerful oil companies and examines the consequences for Harding and his cronies, as well as the
lasting legacy of the scandal for American politics.
