The Teapot Dome Scandal

Upon becoming president of the United States in 1921, Warren G. Harding chose his close friends to be key members of his cabinet. Unfortunately, many of the friends Harding chose were unsuited to their positions, and chose to take advantage of their newfound power. Throughout his term, Harding's cabinet became wrought with corruption and scandals, none more profound than the infamous Teapot Dome Scandal, which took place between 1921-1922.

The new era of reform and progress ushered in by Theodore Roosevelt called for a stronger American influence across the globe. To do this, however, required a more efficient source of energy than coal to use in the American Navy. The U.S decided petroleum would be preferable, and went about finding and tapping oil reserves around the country. One of these oil reserves was found in Wyoming, and was called "Teapot Dome" after its unusual (teapot-resembling) structure.

Within a few weeks of Harding's presidency, Albert Fall, the secretary of interior, convinced Harding to put these oil reserves in the hands of the Department of the Interior, stating that it was best equipped to deal with this land. When Fall received the Teapot Dome, he accepted bribes from his close friends Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclair in exchange for permission to drill into the reserve. This was entirely against the law, because these oil reserves were meant for naval use and therefore were inaccessible to the public.

When the senator John Kendrick was notified of private use of the Teapot Dome, he turned over the issue to a Senate investigative committee. After long deliberation, Edward Doheny and Harry Sinclair were punished lightly, while Albert Fall was convicted for accepting bribes. Fall would be fined 100,000 dollars and spend a year in jail. This represented the first time a cabinet member was sentenced to prison while serving.

Many historians believe, although this cannot be proven, that President Harding only escaped implication in this crime because of his death in 1923. Though his death may have been convenient in this sense, Harding's legacy as president suffered from the scandal in his stead. Many historians today consider Harding's presidency one synonymous with fraud and corruption, and the Teapot Dome Scandal reinforces this ideology more than anything else during Harding's presidency.




Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/event/Teapot-Dome-Scandal
http://www.wyohistory.org/encyclopedia/teapot-dome-scandal
http://www.ohiohistorycentral.org/w/Albert_B._Fall
http://images.rarenewspapers.com/ebayimgs/11.25.2006/image039.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Teapot_Rock_postcard_crop.jpg/220px-Teapot_Rock_postcard_crop.jpg