What's up explorers!
Today we are taking a look at the state of Wyoming, which 100 years ago found itself
at the center of a massive presidential scandal.
You've probably heard of Watergate, but prior to the 1970's, Teapot Dome was considered
one of the greatest scandals in the history of American politics.
What is Teapot Dome?
Well, this is Teapot Dome.
And apart from some cows over there and being very beautiful landscape, it really isn't
all that interesting in and of itself.
The year was 1920 and U.S. Senator Warren Harding was running for the Republican nomination
for president - a feat that was considered a long-shot for the Senator after his party
deadlocked over the leading candidates at its own convention.
However, in an act of fate, Harding was nominated on the tenth ballot, and won the 1920 U.S.
presidential election in a landslide.
Campaigning mostly from his home in Ohio on a platform of a "return to normalcy" following
World War I, President Harding was one of the most popular presidents right up until
his death in office just three years later.
In a classic example of cronyism, Harding appointed several of his closest allies and
campaign contributors to various federal positions during his time in office, including his own
cabinet; a group that became known as the "Ohio Gang."
One of these men was Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall, a United States Senator from
New Mexico who saw an opportunity to use his new cabinet position for personal gain.
Prior to World War I, President William Howard Taft set aside several oil fields across the
United States as special naval oil reserves, utilizing powers recently granted to the presidency
through the Pickett Act of 1910.
One of those places was right here - the Teapot Dome Oil Field in Natrona County, Wyoming,
named after a distinctive rock formation nearby that once resembled a teapot.
Other than its name being associated with a sensationalized presidential scandal, Teapot
Dome really wasn't all that interesting.
You see at the time, only one-third of Teapot Dome's 64 productive wells produced little
more than 150 barrels of oil per day.
This paled in comparison to the neighboring Salt Creek oil field, which at one point in
1923 produced over 130,000 barrels of oil in a single day.
In 1921, Secretary Fall got President Harding to sign Executive Order 3474, which effectively
transferred control of the Teapot Dome naval oil reserve, along with two others in California,
from the Navy Department to the Department of the Interior.
Within 1 year, Fall became a wealthy man and his sudden rise to affluence raised suspicion.
He paid up his ranch taxes on which he was 10 years delinquent, and oil men from Wyoming
and Colorado began writing to their Congressmen after they noticed Secretary Fall purchasing
more land in his home state of New Mexico and making significant improvements to his
property.
President Harding ended up dying in office in 1923 from a heart attack, and shortly thereafter,
a number of scandals came to light - the most notable being Teapot Dome.
A lengthy Senate inquiry led by Democrat Thomas J. Walsh of Montana revealed that Secretary
Fall received bribes totaling $404,000 - roughly $5.79 million today - from oil executives
Harry Sinclair of Sinclair Oil and Edward L. Doheny of Pan American Petroleum in exchange
for exclusive oil production rights at the Teapot Dome, Elk Hills, and Buena Vista oil
fields.
Fall also received a $100,000 no-interest loan on his home from Doheny - worth approximately
$1.43 million in today's dollars.
Six criminal and two civil trials ensued, and in 1929, Fall was convicted of criminal
conspiracy and bribery, becoming the first presidential cabinet member to go to prison.
The Supreme Court invalidated the oil leases in 1927 and transferred control of the fields
back to the Navy.
Teapot Dome sat idle until 1976, when drilling resumed, producing over 22 million barrels
of oil and generating $569 million in revenue for the federal government over the course
of 39 years.
It was eventually sold under the Obama administration to a private oil company in 2015.
In all, the Teapot Dome scandal, along with several others uncovered around the same time,
irreparably tarnished the memory of the Harding administration.
Once regarded as the most popular U.S. president up until his death, Warren Harding is now
often rated as one of the worst presidents in U.S. history.
Anyway, that is it for this video.
Please remember to like and subscribe if you've enjoyed this video and drop a comment down
below letting me know your favorite historical scandal.
If you ever find yourself driving through eastern Wyoming on Highway 259, look for the
distinctive Teapot Rock which will forever live in infamy for being associated with one
of the worst presidential scandals up until Watergate.
Thanks for tuning in and remember to get out and explore!