Question

Describe two major scandals that plagued the Harding administration.

Answer 1

The Harding administration was marred by the Teapot Dome Scandal, involving bribery and corruption over oil drilling rights, and the Veterans Bureau scandal, with looting and kickbacks involving government contracts and supplies.

Step-by-step explanation:

Two major scandals plagued the Harding administration: the Teapot Dome Scandal and the corruption within the Veterans Bureau. The Teapot Dome Scandal was the most egregious, involving Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall, who accepted bribes totalling around $400,000 in exchange for permitting private oil companies to drill on public lands set aside for emergency military use.

Fall was later convicted and received a fine and jail sentence. Another scandal involved the head of the Veterans Bureau, Colonel Charles Forbes, who was caught looting medical supplies and accepting kickbacks from government contractors. Forbes eventually fled the country, but after Harding's death, returned, was tried, convicted, and served time in prison.

Answer 2

The two major scandals that plagued the Harding administration were 1) the attempted theft of national oil reserves, and 2) his infamous "Ohio Gang" was accused of trying to sell lands that were taken from the Germans.