The Story of the Teapot Dome Scandal

by Jim Hargrove

Book Overview

Describes the causes, events, and aftermath of the scandal known as Teapot Dome which helped ruin the reputation of the administration of Warren G. Harding, the twenty-ninth president. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0516047221
• ISBN13: 9780516047225
• Release Date: October 1989
• Publisher: Children's Press(CT)
• Length: 31 Pages
• Weight: 0.55 lbs.
• Age Range: 9 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 4 to 7

Customer Reviews

One of the greatest government scandals of all time told in a way that children can understand

Until Watergate, the greatest scandal in the United States Federal government was the Teapot Dome scandal in the administration of Warren G. Harding. The Teapot Dome was in fact an underground dome of rock filled with crude oil. Contrary to law and in a very quiet move, President Harding signed an executive order allowing members of his administration to pump the crude out of the ground. Members of the Harding administration then set out to rob the government and stockholders of their companies of millions of dollars. As is pointed out so well in this book, a large number of officials of the Harding administration were involved in the illegal activities. It took years for all of the investigations and trials to conclude, the illegal activity started in 1921 and ended in 1929, well after Harding had died in office. While no short book such as this can completely examine such a complex set of events, Hargrove does an excellent job in describing the scandal in a manner where the elementary school child can understand it. I strongly recommend this as a history textbook for young children. Government scandals seem to be a part of the American executive branch and the current administration is no exception. One of the greatest strengths of the American federal system of government is that it is self-correcting and the Teapot Dome scandal is another example of those forces in action.