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George Washington is not often thought ====From World War I to the Cold War====[[File:Teapotdomei13.jpg|thumb|left|Figure 2. The Tea Pot Dome scandal was perhaps one of as the biggest corruption scandals involving a scandalous president, but even he could not get away from some rumorsPresident's administration. This included having been accused of fathering children out of wedlock, something not acceptable to 18th-century norms. However, one documented ]]Perhaps the most notorious scandal did great problems for him and may have contributed to his somewhat occur early deathin the 20th century occurred during the curtailed presidency of Warren Harding. The Jay Treaty Teapot Dome scandal was a treaty signed scandal involving bribes taken by members of Harding's administration in 1795 between exchange for oil held in reserve by the United States Government and Great Britain, which helped establish a firmer peace between US government (Figure 2). It involved oil reserves that the two countries at the timeUS government held in Wyoming that it began illegally leasing out to private companies. The treaty gave Britain favored trading status scandal affected Harding directly because he was accused of having let the scandal occur and this greatly angered Francepossibly being involved in bribery. Nevertheless, the ally Harding would die while in office, but his administration would continue to be accused of corruption even after he had died.<ref>For more on the United StatesTeapot Dome scandal, and led to a split among US politicianssee: McCartney, with Jefferson accusing Washington of treasonL. (2009). <i>The Jeffersonian party saw this as a power grab by Teapot Dome Scandal: how big oil bought the Hamiltonians; in Washington's own farewell address he warned against party politics Harding White House and tried to steal the influence of political partiescountry</i> (Random House trade pbk. ed). New York: Random House Trade Paperbacks.</ref>
Another early scandal involved a cabinet member of Andrew JacksonHerbert Hoover was President from 1929-1933. Unfortunately for him, John Eaton, who this was Secretary perhaps some of Warthe worst economic years in US history. Eaton had just married Peggy O’Neale after his previous wife had died. O'Neale herself The Great Depression was a young widow likely not caused by him, but the public needed someone to blame and had soon married Eaton after her husband diedthe President often is the first to get blamed. However, which led to many accusations what made it worse for him is that World War I veterans, who were made jobless by the two were conducting an affair prior to Great Depression, conducted a protest, what was seen became known as the Bonus Riot, because they were promised pay bonuses that they never received. Hoover sent a convenient deathgeneral, by the name of Douglas MacArthur, to break up the demonstration. The wives Unfortunately, the general seemed to be informed that a group of Jackson's cabinet refused socialists was protesting rather than former soldiers who were made jobless. This led him to socialize with O'Nealebe far harsher than he might have otherwise been in breaking up the protest. Once the public heard about this, leading the public became even more negative of Hoover and this easily paved the way for Franklin Roosevelt to Jackson becoming angry with become President.<ref>For more on Hoover and his cabinet handling of veteran protesters, see: Lisio, D. J. (1994). <i>The President and scolding them for not having their wives socialize with O'Neale. Eventuallyprotest: Hoover, Jackson's entire cabinet resignedMacArthur, as they saw Eaton's relationship as scandalous for and the moral standards of the dayBonus Riot</i> (2nd ed). New York: Fordham University Press.</ref>
Andrew Johnson is known as During the years after World War II, Harry Truman faced allegations of corruption when an investigation discovered widespread impropriety at the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Overall, this led to the firing of 166 employees at the president who came closest IRS. While nothing directly linked Truman to this, this continued to being impeachedhaunt his administration. His relationship with Congress was so fractious The next administration, that he even refussed to carry out laws they had passedof Dwight D. Eisenhower, faced numerous allegations of corruption, resulting mainly in continous problems between the president form of gifts given to administration officials that may have derived from tax payments and Congressmoney from the federal budget. One person called to account for this was Richard Nixon, who was Eisenhower's Vice-President at the time. He also fired officials despite having had been warrned accused of taking $18,000 gifts, but he could not disputed this and repeatly created crises with congressional leaderssaid he only received a dog as a gift from anyone during his time in office. In fact, his violation After Eisenhower was John F. Kennedy. His scandals involve mainly accusations of affairs he had from the Tenure well-known case of Office Act, which gave authority Marilyn Monroe to Congress for removing certain office holders, is what led his own personal secretaries. He was mostly able to impeachmentevade these accusations until his assassination. The scandle did not reflect well <ref>For more on Congress either, as it was seen by the wider public as an attempt by Republicans to assert early Cold War presidents and their authority on alleged scandals, see: Klein, W. (2010). <i>The inside stories of modern political scandals: how investigative reporters have changed the President rather than being a legitimate reason for the impeachementcourse of American history</i>. Santa Barbara, Calif: Praeger. </ref>
Perhaps among the biggest scandals of 19th century American presidents involved Grover Cleveland====Recent Scandals====<dh-ad/>Lydon Johnson mostly had to contend with an unpopular war in Vietnam. In 1884However, after he ran for president as a cleanhad left office, moral president and was labeled as "Grover the Goodrevelation of the Pentagon Papers by the Washington Post indicated he had extensively lied to the American public about its involvement in Vietnam." The reality But even this was he overshadowed by the next President, Richard Nixon, who had fathered an illegitimate child years earlierordered the break-in on the Democratic National Committee offices in the Watergate complex in Washington DC. The woman in question was Maria HalpinWhile the story of this is well known, the coverup with this scandal, as with many others, is what often gets a widowPresident in trouble. Cleveland quickly admitted Nixon repeatedly evaded and refused to hand over evidence about the affair once it break-in and this ultimately led Congress to begin formal impeachment proceedings on him. This threat was revealed enough for him to resign and said he even took care of leave office as the child in question by finding a family only President who has resigned. This also led to adopt the childnext scandal, even though he stated he was not sure he which was the father of the child and Halpin had been accused Gerald Ford's unconditional pardoning of Nixon. This prevented Nixon from being with other men. Cleveland said he was tried or being gallant brought before Congress for taking responsibility for the child even if he was not sure he was the fatherany testimony on his actions. Halpin, <ref>For more on the other handPentagon Papers, see: Ellsberg, accused him D. (2003). <i>Secrets: a memoir of having forced her to give up the child Vietnam and had effectively bribed his way out of the issue by making the child disappear from political scrutinyPentagon papers</i>. This scandal occurred mostly during the campaign and led to a very close election that Cleveland was able to win perhaps through some clever spinning by making it look like he was ultimately trying to help the childNew York: Penguin Books.</ref>
==From World War I The Regan administration is best known for the Iran-Contra Affair, which saw arm sales to Iran being used to fund anti-Communist fighters in Nicaragua. These fighters were accused of numerous war crimes and the fact that the actions violated US sanctions on Iran and the act itself was done in secret by Regan administration officials led to accusations against the President. Regan was never directly linked, but the fact his administration also tried to prevent papers and other documents from being sent to Congress for an investigation led to accusations against the Cold War==President.<ref>For more on Regan and the Iran-Contra Affair, see: Wroe, A. (1991). <i>Lives, lies and the Iran-Contra affair</i>. London; New York: I.B. Tauris & Co.</ref>
==Recent Scandals==After Nixon, perhaps the second most well-remembered scandal in recent history was the Monica Lewinsky affair during Clinton's time as President. Similar to Nixon, the coverup of the affair led to Congress investigating further and ultimately drawing articles of impeachment against him for perjury. Ultimately, Clinton triumphed against the impeachment but made this among the most memorable scandals of his time. During the presidency of George W. Bush, perhaps the Iraq war and events related to how the war was sold to the public might be among the biggest scandals of the administration.
==Conclusions==It did lead to the arrest and jail time for one administration official, Scooter Libby, for having leaked a name of a CIA operative who was the wife of a prominent Iraq war critic. Accusations also revolved around how much did the Bush administration know before they launched the war and if they lied to start the war.<ref>For more on Clinton and George W. Bush scandals, including media responses, see: Entman, R. M. (2012).<i> Scandal and silence: media responses to presidential misconduct</i>. Cambridge, UK ; Malden, MA: Polity Press. </ref>
Admin moved page What is the History of US Presidential Scandals? to What is the History of US Presidential Scandals
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[[File:Jay's-treaty.jpg|thumbnail|left|250px|Figure 1. The Jay Treaty was perhaps the first scandal to directly affect a sitting President. ]]
Presidential scandals, in all countries, have a long history and this is the case in the United States. Such history has included affairs, corruption, and various crimes and misdemeanors. Some of the scandals are hard to believe even, yet the American public has often been forgiving, as history shows.
====The Early Presidents====George Washington is not often thought of as a scandalous president, but even he could not get away from some rumors. This included having been accused of fathering children out of wedlock, something not acceptable to 18th-century norms. However, one documented scandal did great problems for him and may have contributed to his somewhat early death. The Jay Treaty was a treaty signed in 1795 between the United States Government and Great Britain, which helped establish a firmer peace between the two countries at the time. The treaty gave Britain favored trading status and this greatly angered France, the ally of the United States, and led to a split among US politicians, with Jefferson accusing Washington of treason. The Jeffersonian party saw this as a power grab by the Hamiltonians; in Washington's own farewell address he warned against party politics and the influence of political parties (Figure 1).<ref>For more on the Jay Treaty, see: Estes, T. (2006). <i>The Jay Treaty debate, public opinion, and the evolution of early American political culture</i>. In Political Development of the American Nation. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press.</ref> Another early scandal, and perhaps the first major scandal involving sex, involved a cabinet member of Andrew Jackson, John Eaton, who was Secretary of War in the so-called Petticoat affair. Eaton had just married Peggy O’Neale after his previous wife had died. O'Neale herself was a young widow and had soon married Eaton after her husband died, which led to many accusations that the two were conducting an affair prior to what was seen as a convenient death. The wives of Jackson's cabinet refused to socialize with O'Neale, leading to Jackson becoming angry with his cabinet and scolding them for not having their wives socialize with O'Neale. Eventually, Jackson's entire cabinet resigned, as they saw Eaton's relationship as scandalous for the moral standards of the day.<ref>For more on John Eaton and how this scandal affect Jackson, see: Marszalek, J. F. (2000). <i>The petticoat affair: manners, mutiny, and sex in Andrew Jackson’s White House</i>. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press.</ref> Andrew Johnson is known as the President who came closest to being impeached. His relationship with Congress was so fractious that he even refused to carry out laws they had passed, resulting in continuous problems between the president and Congress. He also fired officials despite having been warned he could not and repeatedly created crises with congressional leaders. In fact, his violation of the Tenure of Office Act, which gave authority to Congress for removing certain office holders, is what led to impeachment. The scandal did not reflect well on Congress either, as it was seen by the wider public as an attempt by Republicans to assert their authority on the President rather than being a legitimate reason for the impeachment.<ref>For more on Johnson's various conflicts with Congress, see: McKitrick, E. L. (1988). <i>Andrew Johnson and Reconstruction</i>. New York: Oxford University Press.</ref> Perhaps among the biggest scandals of 19th-century American presidents involved Grover Cleveland. This scandal also demonstrates the power of the public to give a President a pass, albeit the public may have been deceived. In 1884, Cleveland ran for president as a clean, moral president and was labeled as "Grover the Good." The reality was he had fathered an illegitimate child years earlier. The woman in question was Maria Halpin, a widow. Cleveland quickly admitted to the affair once it was revealed and said he even took care of the child in question by finding a family to adopt the child, even though he stated he was not sure he was the father of the child and Halpin had been accused of being with other men. Cleveland said he was being gallant for taking responsibility for the child even if he was not sure he was the father. Halpin, on the other hand, accused him of having forced her to give up the child for adoption and Cleveland had effectively bribed his way out of the issue by paying to have the child taken by adoptive partents and away from political scrutiny. It was bad enough to force the child to be taken away from Halpin and to then try to hide the story, but Cleveland was able to push his version of events, perhaps through some clever spinning, that he was trying to do the honorable thing in a difficult situation. This scandal occurred mostly during the campaign and led to a very close election that Cleveland was able to win.<ref>For more on Cleveland and his scandals, see: Lachman, C. (2011). <i>A secret life: the sex, lies and scandals of President Grover Cleveland</i>. New York: Skyhorse Pub.</ref>
====Conclusion====The last two presidents, Obama and Trump, have also had various accusations of scandals. For Obama, the biggest may have been the storming and killing of the US ambassador in Libya, where the administration was accused of a cover-up. For Trump, many accusations, including affairs, corruption, treason, and other crimes and impropriety, have been leveled but to this day nothing has been formally established. Throughout US history, we see that Presidents are often held to a high ethical standard. When they fail, it can be disastrous to their political careers but the public has also shown itself to be forgiving, such as the case of Clinton and Cleveland show, with Cleveland winning another term after his scandal became public.====References====<references/>[[Category:Wikis]] [[Category:United States History]] [[Category:19th Century History]] [[Category:20th Century History]]
