The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House by Laton McCartney

[gilda_elise]

Mix hundreds of millions of dollars in petroleum reserves; rapacious oil barons and crooked politicians; under-the-table payoffs; murder, suicide, and blackmail; White House cronyism; and the excesses of the Jazz Age. The result: the granddaddy of all American political scandals, Teapot Dome.

The author 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.

The more things change, the more things stay the same. Isn’t that the truth, as this book so aptly demonstrates.

The book is ultimately interesting, but it took awhile to get to the meat of the issue, as there are many threads to follow, a veritable who’s who of corrupt Oilmen of the Gilded Age. And a cautionary tale, since I often felt like I was reading about today’s issues. And though Fall was convicted, the vast majority of the conspirators got off scott free.

The book often reads like a novel, especially since the footnotes are all collected as “notes,” and aren’t very comprehensive. Nevertheless, it’s a fascinating look at a time very much like our own.



Mount TBR 2016 Book Links

Links are to more information regarding each book, not to the review.

1. Alexander's Lovers
2. The Border
3. 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus
4. Green Darkness
5. The Return of the Wolf to Yellowstone
6. Rise to Rebellion
7. Return to Sodom and Gomorrah
8. Through a Glass Darkly
9. Lisey's Story
10. The Man He Became
11. The Handmaid's Tale
12. The Great Warming
13. Sacrament
14. The Teapot Dome Scandal: How Big Oil Bought the Harding White House and Tried to Steal the Country

Comments

[shooting2kill.livejournal.com]

I've never even heard of The Teapot Come Scandal let alone know much about it! This sounds like another fascinating read I should look out for, thanks so much for the review.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

I remembered them covering it in school, so when I heard about the book I was instantly interested. It's sort of the flagship when it comes to American scandals. And and especial lesson for now, shows how far the oil industry will go to get what they want. Glad you liked the review!

[tinny]

Interesting! I had never heard about that scandal before.

Yeah, the dangerous thing about stories like that is that you're tempted to think "this couldn't happen today" when it very well could or maybe already is.

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Until Watergate, it was probably the most well-known political scandal. I do remember it being covered in my American history class in high school.

Considering how many drilling permits are still being given out, especially in environmentally sensitive areas, it's hard not to think that there's, maybe not corruption, but certainly a too cosy relationship between the political world and the oil industry.