The Teapot Dome Scandal occurred in the United States during the 1920s and is considered one of the biggest scandals in American history. It involved the leasing of federal oil reserves to private companies and the subsequent bribery and corruption that ensued.
The scandal began in 1921, when President Warren G. Harding's Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, secretly leased naval oil reserves at Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and two other locations to private oil companies. These leases were supposed to be for the benefit of the U.S. Navy, but Fall accepted bribes from the oil companies in exchange for the leases. This kickback scheme became public in 1922 and triggered a congressional investigation.
The Teapot Dome Scandal is considered one of America's biggest scandals because it exposed widespread corruption in the U.S. government and the private sector. The scandal implicated top officials in the Harding administration and prominent businessmen, and it revealed the extent to which money and politics had become intertwined in America's Gilded Age. The scandal also damaged the reputation of the Republican Party and contributed to a loss of public trust in the federal government.
In the aftermath of the scandal, Albert Fall was convicted of accepting bribes and became the first cabinet member to be imprisoned for a crime committed while in office. The scandal also led to the establishment of stronger ethics rules for government officials and a greater emphasis on transparency and accountability in government operations.