25 Oct: How To Bribe A Senator
The ‘Teapot Dome scandal’ reached its climax when Senator Albert Fall was found guilty of bribery, fined $100,000 and sent to jail on 25th October, 1929.
During the Presidency of Warren G Harding, Fall had been offering private companies the chance to drill for oil on state land, without competitive bidding, in return for bags cash. And some farm animals.
In this episode, Arion, Olly and Rebecca reveal the unheroic role of newspapers in suppressing the scandal; pick apart the realism of ‘There Will Be Blood’; and ask whether American politics has ever lost its penchant for ‘kickbacks’…
Further Reading:
• ‘Secretary Fall resigns in Teapot Dome scandal’ (HISTORY, 2020): https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/secretary-fall-resigns-in-teapot-dome-scandal
• ‘History Brief: The Ohio Gang and the Teapot Dome Scandal’ (Reading Through History, 2015):
• ‘The Mystery Behind the Greystone Mansion Murder-Suicide’ (Scare Street, 2019): https://scarestreet.com/greystone-mansion/