Albert Bacon Fall was a United States senator from New Mexico and Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding. He became infamous for his involvement in the Teapot Dome scandal, which led to his conviction as the only person convicted as a result of the affair. Born on November 26, 1861, in Frankfort, Kentucky, Fall served as Secretary of the Interior under Harding and was found guilty of accepting bribes from oil companies in exchange for exclusive rights to drill for oil on the Teapot Dome.
After Harding transferred supervision of the naval oil-reserve lands from the navy to the Department of the Interior in 1921, Fall secretly granted Harry F. Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil Company exclusive drilling rights. As the 29th U.S. president (1921–23), Harding’s brief administration accomplished little of lasting value due to his ill-advised cabinet appointments, including Fall as secretary of the interior.
Albert Bacon Fall was the first American to be convicted of a bribery scandal during Harding’s administration. From 1921 to 1923, he leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two locations in Wyoming. Harding’s administration was rife with corruption, with Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall participating in the secret leasing of federal oil reserves, resulting in the Teapot Dome Scandal.
In 1921, Fall was appointed as the 28th Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding, leaving a lasting stain on the Harding presidency.
📹 Warren G. Harding: The Most Corrupt President in US History
Love content? Check out Simon’s other YouTube Channels: Geographics: …
Who was the first Secretary of the Interior?
The Department of the Interior was established in 1849 by Thomas Ewing, a former Ohio Senator and father-in-law of General William T. Sherman. Ewing appointed his son, Thomas Ewing, Jr., to oversee government publications and his existing services as private secretary to President Zachary Taylor. In 1850, the Library of the Department of the Interior was established in the Corcoran Building, where necessary reference books were placed under his supervision.
The Library became an important adjunct to the Secretary’s Office. In 1859, Congress charged the Department of the Interior with distributing all government publications and copyrighting books, maps, and charts. This new business was placed in the section of the Secretary’s Office containing the Library. Throughout the 1860s, the Interior Library was responsible for publication distribution and copyrights for the entire Federal government.
Who served as secretary of commerce under President Harding?
Herbert Hoover, the Third Secretary of Commerce, was a highly influential member of Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge’s cabinets. Under his leadership, the Department of Commerce transformed into one of the most powerful federal agencies of its time. Hoover initially hesitated when offered the position by President-Elect Warren G. Harding in 1921, as he had previously headed the American Relief Administration. However, when Harding gave him clearance to reorganize the department and expand its role in promoting American commerce, Hoover accepted the position.
Under Hoover’s leadership, the Commerce Department flourished, and the secretary’s reputation grew. Hoover’s diligence and determination helped him win the presidency in 1928, making him known as the “Secretary of Commerce and Undersecretary of Everything Else”.
Who is the most famous Secretary of the Treasury?
In 1789, Alexander Hamilton, a former military aide and financier, was appointed as the first Secretary of the Treasury. He sought a strong, centrally controlled Treasury and fought with Thomas Jefferson and Albert Gallatin over the Department’s power. Hamilton designed a Treasury Department for collecting and disbursing public revenue and promoting economic development.
Facing a chaotic treasury burdened by the heavy debt of the Revolutionary War, Hamilton’s first interest was the repayment of the war debt in full. He implemented a revenue system based on customs duties and excise taxes during 1790 and 1791. This approach secured the confidence and respect of foreign nations.
Hamilton introduced plans for the First Bank of the United States, established in 1791, to serve as the financial agent of the Treasury Department. The Bank served as a depository for public funds and assisted the government in financial transactions. The First Bank issued paper currency for paying taxes and debts owed to the Federal Government.
What was the harding cabinet?
Warren Harding, a prominent U. S. president, was born on November 2, 1865, in Blooming Grove, Ohio. He was the eldest of eight children, born to George Tryon Harding and Phoebe Elizabeth (née Dickerson) Harding. Harding was the eldest of eight children and was the eldest of eight children.
Harding’s first ancestor in the Americas was Richard Harding, who arrived from England to Massachusetts Bay around 1624. He also had ancestors from Wales and Scotland, and some of his maternal ancestors were Dutch, including the wealthy Van Kirk family. Harding’s cabinet included respected figures like Andrew Mellon at Treasury, Herbert Hoover at Commerce, and Charles Evans Hughes at the State Department.
A major foreign policy achievement came with the Washington Naval Conference of 1921–1922, which agreed on a naval limitations program that lasted a decade. Harding released political prisoners who had been arrested for their opposition to World War I.
Harding died in 1923, and his posthumous reputation was greatly damaged by scandals and revelations of extramarital affairs. Some historians have begun to reassess the conventional views of Harding’s historical record in office.
Who was the Secretary of Treasury for Harding?
Andrew W. Mellon, a significant figure in the Trans-Allegheny region’s industrial and financial development, was appointed Secretary of the Treasury by President Warren G. Harding in 1921. He served under Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Herbert Hoover, focusing on debt reduction, tax reduction, and a balanced budget. Mellon’s tax reform scheme, known as the Mellon Plan, reduced taxes for businesses, aiming to make big businesses prosper by reducing their tax burden and transferring profits to the nation.
Despite the prosperity and peace, the Great Depression in 1929 undercut Mellon’s prestige and brought him increasing criticism. Despite the economic downturn, Mellon continued his policy of balancing the budget by cutting spending and increasing taxes, worsening the effects on ordinary citizens. Mellon’s overseas renegotiating of World War I debt payments led to increased reliance on Ogden L. Mills, Mellon’s Under Secretary, for advice. In 1932, Mellon left the Treasury to become Ambassador to Great Britain, replacing him with Mills.
Who exposed the Teapot Dome scandal?
In June 1924, the Senate Committee on Public Lands and Surveys released a report, Leases Upon Naval Oil Reserves, which uncovered widespread corruption between government officials and powerful corporate interests. The Teapot Dome scandal, led by Thomas J. Walsh, serves as a powerful example of effective congressional oversight and the ability of lawmakers to expose wrongdoing to protect the public interest.
The seeds of the Teapot Dome scandal were planted in the first decade of the 20th century when President Theodore Roosevelt and conservationists in Congress took steps to protect public lands from unlimited private exploitation.
In 1909, President William Howard Taft responded by withdrawing three million acres of public lands in California and Wyoming from private settlement and development, and designating portions of these lands as naval oil reserves. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson added a third naval oil reserve in Wyoming, named Teapot Dome. Congress placed these reserves under the supervision of the secretary of the navy, who was given wide latitude to conserve, develop, use, and operate the oil reserves in the national interest.
Who was the Secretary of the Interior Teapot Dome scandal?
The Teapot Dome scandal was a bribery scandal that occurred during the administration of President Warren G. Harding from 1921 to 1923. Secretary of the Interior Albert Bacon Fall leased Navy petroleum reserves at Teapot Dome in Wyoming and two locations in California to private oil companies at low rates without competitive bidding. The leases were investigated by Senator Thomas J. Walsh. Fall was convicted of accepting bribes from the oil companies and became the first presidential cabinet member to go to prison.
The scandal damaged the Harding administration’s reputation, which was already damaged by the Great Railroad Strike of 1922 and Harding’s 1922 veto of the Bonus Bill. Congress passed permanent legislation granting subpoena power over tax records of any U. S. citizen, regardless of position.
Who was secretary of Interior 1969?
Walter Joseph Hickel was an American businessman, real estate developer, and politician who served as the second governor of Alaska from 1966 to 1969 and 1990 to 1994. He also served as U. S. Secretary of the Interior from 1969 to 1970. Hickel began his career as a construction worker and later became involved in real estate development after World War II. He entered politics in the 1950s during Alaska’s battle for statehood and remained politically active throughout his life.
Hickel was born in 1919 in Ellinwood, Kansas, to Emma Pauline (Zecha) and Robert Anton Hickel. He grew up on his parents’ Dust Bowl tenant farm during the Great Depression and moved to Alaska in 1940. He later founded a successful construction company in 1947. Hickel’s political career began in the 1950s during Alaska’s battle for statehood and ended with his resignation in 1969.
Who became the fall guy for the Teapot Dome scandal?
Albert Bacon Fall was a renowned US senator and Secretary of the Interior under President Warren G. Harding. Born in Frankfort, Kentucky, he attended schools in Nashville, Tennessee, but was primarily self-educated. He worked in a cotton factory at age eleven, likely due to respiratory health problems. Due to his illnesses, he moved west to seek a better climate, eventually settling in Las Cruces, New Mexico Territory, where he practiced law. Between 1879 and 1881, Fall worked as a teacher while studying law.
He married Emma Garland Morgan in Clarksville, Texas, and they had four children. Jack Morgan Fall and his daughters Alexina Chase, Caroline Everhart, and Jouett Elliott died during the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic. The Fall family lived at the Three Rivers Ranch in the Tularosa Basin and had a home in El Paso.
Who was secretary of commerce under George HW Bush?
Barbara Hackman Franklin, born in 1940, is an American government official, corporate director, and business executive. She served as the 29th U. S. Secretary of Commerce from 1992 to 1993, leading a presidential mission to China. Franklin has held various positions in the presidential administrations of Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and Ronald Reagan. She was one of the original commissioners and first vice chair of the U. S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Franklin has served on the boards of 18 companies, including Dow Chemical, Aetna Inc., Westinghouse, and Nordstrom. She was named one of the most influential people in corporate governance by Directorship magazine and the American Management Association.
Who was secretary under Harding?
Warren G. Harding, the 29th president of the United States, served from March 4, 1921, until his death on August 2, 1923. A Republican from Ohio, Harding was elected after defeating Democrat James M. Cox in the 1920 presidential election. He won the popular vote by a margin of 26. 2 percentage points, making it the largest popular-vote percentage margin in presidential elections since the end of the Era of Good Feelings in the 1820s. Harding implemented conservative policies to minimize the government’s role in the economy, including the Revenue Act of 1921, the Budget and Accounting Act, and the Fordney-McCumber Tariff.
He supported the 1921 Emergency Quota Act, which marked the start of restrictive immigration policies. Harding also signed bills to address the farm crisis and promoted new technologies like the radio and aviation. His foreign policy was directed by Secretary of State Charles Evans Hughes, who led the Washington Naval Conference of 1921–1922, which agreed on a naval disarmament program. Harding appointed four Supreme Court justices, all of whom became conservative members of the Taft Court. After Harding’s death, several scandals emerged, including the Teapot Dome scandal.
📹 The Life and Presidency of Warren Harding
This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.
Please do an episode on Eamonn de Valera, he was the most prominent political figure in 20th century Ireland. He was part of rebellions, the civil war and ensuring Ireland stayed neutral during WW2. He is a controversial figure with triumphs and numerous points of critique. He is definitely worthy of a article.
I love these documentaries. I put them on to listen to relax and unwind from the day as I fall asleep, and end up learning so much. Mind you, it takes a few nights to get through them from all the rewinding to the parts I missed after I’d fallen asleep. lol I also like that they’re done by a person from another country who doesn’t have any partisan bias, and observes historically from a third person perspective.
“A man so genile that he would probably shampoo your ballsack if he thought it would make you like him”. This is why I love biographics. It’s factual and informative like History website used to be before before the aliens took over. But you also get that internet magic of lines like that. Mhuwa! (chef kiss sound)
I got my best dose of U.S. history in eighth grade(65years ago). That’s when I first became aware of Harding. Since my mother was 8-11 during his administration, I asked her if she remembered anything about him dying in office. She told me it was rumored at the time that his wife had poisoned him because she was afraid he was going to be impeached. I don’t think any journalists investigated back then. I am guessing that the attitude was that the pressures of the presidency had killed Wilson and then Harding. If Coolidge was investigating, why pursue a rumor that was seemingly unfounded?
Wow I had no idea Harding did anything positive! That’s why I love this website. Also I love how history doesn’t change. We still get rich incompetent lazy people failing upwards to President lol At least he was able to admit that he was useless undeserving and kept bad friends and was at least racially progressive…
I’m reminded of The Peter Principle, that within a heirarchy, persons “rise to their level of incompetence,” that is, they rise from job to more responsible job until they reach one for which they they are not qualified, and then they will stay there. Harding seems to have gotten well beyond his level of incompetence, so I was going to say that he was hyper-Peterized, but then, thinking of Carrie Phillips and Nan Britton, well, that gave the term another meaning.
I visited the Alaskan town of Talkeetna, which resides at the bottom of Mt. McKinley . There resides the Talkeetna Inn, which serves the local population and those daring enough to climb the harrowing Mt. McKinley. You can easily spot the climbers because they have a severe drawn appearance and a grey pallor along with an extremely lean but athletic build. At the time of my visit, it had been around 80 years since President Warren G Harding had lunch at there at the Talkeetna Inn. It was on his train trip back to Portland, Oregon that he became very ill and died. It was very strange in that his wife, who had put so much into his rise to President, and then was repeatedly defamed by Warren’s philandering, and, as it is reported, several children born out of wedlock, was on this very same train and trip with him. She did not allow an autopsy, and had his body cremated upon his return to the east. It is suggested that she had repeatedly poisoned him with small amounts of Rat Poison, or other unknown substances. Anyway, she launched a defamatory campaign against the Talkeetna Inn, that they had given him food poisoning resulting in his demise. Although never proved, and Mrs. Harding was never reproached about her possible involvement in President Harding’s strange and untimely death circumstances, the negative ill will and accusation against the Talkeetna Inn has remained over the few generations. We were told that the family that owns and runs the Inn are direct descendants of those who served President Harding.
That’s a seldom-brought-up problem with trying to please everyone: in practice, it tends to mean only pleasing the people who get up in your face first and most, the ramifications of what exactly they want be damned. TBH, I feel a little bad for him — just a little — if his meeting with Hoover is what it seemed to be. Was he starting to feel remorseful about the ordeal? We’ll never know for sure.
Whew! While normally I enjoy listening to a great many of your websites, I’m feeling conflicted about both your headline and the filter with which you chose to present this one Simon! I think you would have to make a stronger case in order to label Harding as the “Most Corrupt”. To be clear, I don’t really have a dog in the fight about Harding, he’s never been a very interesting president to me, but, I think perhaps, just perhaps, you’ve done him a bit of a disservice with your framing of him. The case you presented is one of a president who was a philanderer to be sure, but so were FDR, Kennedy, and Clinton; Also you’ve done a fair job of establishing Harding as a fairly weak willed president, but there are also many others who fall into that category as well; and finally you’ve made a solid case of presenting Harding as a president who had several corrupt members in his cabinet, but you’d have to look no farther than the cabinet of Ulysses S. Grant, for a similar example. The evidence you’ve laid forth in this particular piece just doesn’t seem to support your thesis of the “Most Corrupt” president to me. I think a casual glance of presidents would bring up many names that should be in the running for the title of “Most Corrupt President”. Some easy front runners could include, (but by no means be limited to) Prez. Andrew Johnson’s handling of Reconstruction, Prez. Richard Nixon’s “Watergate” affair, and Prez. Lyndon B. Johnson’s use of the CIA and FBI to spy on and undercut the presidential run of his political rival Barry Goldwater.
All I think about is Warren g regulate 🤣🤣🤣🤣”It was a clear black night, a clear white moon Warren G was on the streets, trying to consume Some skirts for the eve, so I can get some funk Just rollin’ in my ride, chillin’ all alone Just hit the Eastside of the LBC On a mission trying to find Mr. Warren G. Seen a car full of girls ain’t no need to tweak All you skirts know what’s up with 213″
Well known businessman who pays off women he has had affairs with, has staff/cabinet that wreaks of nepotism, returning America back to a prior period of glory, facing scandals but not necessarily being punished for them. Despite all the odd fear-mongering comparisons people tried to make, I always said our past administration mirrored Harding’s
Imagine going from the first southern president since the civil war to someone in Lincoln’s party winning a landslide with former confederate states with the slogan return to normal, and it’s a man that can’t keep his hands off women no matter their age… Wasn’t our current president’s slogan return to normalcy?…
Another major reason that Harding got in: women would, for the 1st time, vote. His good looks & charm we’re aimed straight at that demographic. & in light of recent events, I must disagree with your basic premise. Harding is the SECOND MOST corrupt president to have held office. trump takes top honors now.
I have always been a fan of Harding. During the crash of 1921 when Harry Truman lost his shirt from his shirt store, Harding and Mellon policies brought things back to normal pretty quick. As opposed to 1929 when Hoover thrashed around and started a depression that lasted until WWII. Another story is how Alice Roosevelt visited the Harding White House and was shocked to find her fathers library had been turned into a saloon. Say what you will about Harding, but he wasn’t a phony.
Republican Teddy Roosevelt was the first president to invite an African-American to the White House for dinner, in the face of Democrat critics. Republican Harding was the first president to push hard against the Democrat KKK and lynching, and for economic racial equality. Republican Eisenhower sent troops to allow schools to be integrated in Arkansas, championed racial equality in the military, and his administration authored and championed the Civil Rights Act which ultimately passed despite Democrat opposition. The idea that Democrats are champions for blacks is fiction. Democrats were the party of slavery and segregation. There was never a switcheroo in the 60s, the Democrats basically pushed policies that only looked good but actually poisoned the soul of black America.
I am still waiting to hear how corrupt he was. I would like you to compare the net worth of Presidents before and after to see how much value they received. Clinton, Obama, and of course Biden but Biden has to be compared when he first took office as Senator. I don’t think you have the courage to do that so I will not wait for your response.
So according to the article he was not corrupt. His friends were corrupt and he failed to stop them. But the economy was doing well, so the good was much greater than the bad. He massively reduced taxes and didn’t start any crisis. 24:09 Harding should not have said “no” to the presidency itself, because then we would not have Coolidge as the president.
The Republicans, passed the 19th in amendment in 1919 allowing females to vote, 50 years after blacks males were permitted to vote . The democrats were opposed, however, 20 democrats did end up joining the Republicans to secure the victory. This significant voting change resulted in Hardings “stealing” the victory.
This is horrible history, repeating historical misconceptions created by his political rivals. He didn’t want to “please people” when he gave a landmark speech in Alabama urging an end to institutional racism. Yes, like Grant (also from Ohio) he trusted people he shouldn’t. Your statement that he couldn’t say no to anyone is just not the problem he had. Sorry, nice try but you just got it wrong.
Thank you I learned a lot about the man, BUT you didnt mention his greatest accomplishment which set the stage for the “roaring twenties”. That was his economic answer to the great recession in 1921. When the economy went into a 1929 level of economic recession he answered it cutting gov’t spending and lowering taxes and tariffs. Within a year to 2 years the economy was off to 9 year expansion. The fact you didnt mention this makes me wonder whether your british socialistic keynesian tendencies made you smug. Another fact worth mentioning was the theory that his economic policies cost him his life. Yes he might have been poisoned.
Funny enough, Harding used the Star for his own ends (really the need of the people a few times) I am a Marion Resident and owned and lived in an old opera house in town. Anyway, the Opera house exists solely because the wealthy in town weren’t going for it in the late 1800’s and he basically started taking potshots at them in the paper until they told him they would put up the money if he would just stop. There was also the 32nd Elks lodge in the building that he was also a member of. It was a cool place.
Incoming Warren Harding trivia snippet: He is the most recent president to have a county named after him. The US has loads of counties named after early presidents, but Warren Harding was the last one to receive the honor. Harding County, New Mexico was created on his inauguration day in 1921. It’s about the size of the state of Delaware, and has a population of 657.
I read a number of books by historian Paul Johnson whom I am sure you have heard of. I think he ranked Harding as one of the best Presidents of the 20th century, or of all time, in part because he was the last President to leave office with a smaller budget (or smaller deficit) than when he entered. I would be curious if that is actually true. Seems like the kind of thing you might want to look into or even make a article about. Of course ranking Harding as a top President was quite a contrarian move as most historians rank him near the bottom.
Hey man, some of your months old articles are kind of blowing up in the algorithm, at least for me, so I just wanted to say I just found your website and really appreciate all the great articles. Your coverage of more obscure and less-discussed Cold War conflicts is very well made and informative. Keep up the good work!
on the 100th anniversary of President Harding’s death we must reflect om the man and his legacy warren harding was a kind man who did the best he could for the country was he perfect no but who among us are with historic hindsight we see harding as a better president than his is usually given credit for
Yoou did a nice whitewash of Waren G. Harding. He was the most corputpt of alll the presidents until Trump came along and took over the title. All the scandals were caused by Hardings lack of supervising those in office. It was Harry Daugherty that controlled Harding in THE SMOKE FILLED ROOM in 1920 Republican National Convention .He was a womanizer as well as drink parties and gambling in the White House while Prohibition was going on. He may have looked like a president with his good looks but his judgment was non -existant. General Grant was the third of the worst presidents hands down.
If it was not for uncle Chris trying to steal the identity i would not be doing this…i was not able to join the military because i knew uncle Chris and phillip Arthur and their dope gang would get me kicked out…or i thought they were against me in all this seeing as uncle Chris is son Sydney murdered me by throwing soda cans really hard at my head when i was little…and they never spoke to me again really after i was fixed but they follow me around trying to get me fired from my jobs…