Warren Harding

In his own words, “I am not fit for this office and should never have been here”. As the 29th president of the United States, Harding’s presidency is considered one of the worst mainly because what became known as the Teapot Dome Scandal. This was one of the first times that corruption within the federal government was unveiled, and the public has not forget it.

At the request of the Navy, oil reserves at Teapot Dome was set aside strictly for emergencies, such as war (Kelly 2007). Harding’s Interior Secretary, Albert Fall, illegally accepted over $400,000 in gifts from oil companies in exchange for leasing the rights to Teapot Dome. The Wall Street Journal uncovered what had happened and exposed Fall in 1922, and eventually he was found guilty of bribery (Kelly 2007). Harding claims that he did not know about what was taking place, but since then his presidency has been tainted with the corruption that went on within his administration.

Citation

Kelly , John. “10 Political Scandals.” HowStuffWorks, 16 Sept. 2007, people.howstuffworks.com/6-political-scandals1.htm.