The Teapot Dome Scandal
• In the early part of the 20th century large oil reserves were discovered in Elk Hills, California and Teapot Dome, Wyoming.
Rocky Mountain Oilfield Testing Center on the Teapot Dome Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 3 near Midwest, Wyoming.
• In 1912 President William Taft decided that the government owned the land and its oil reserves should be set aside for the use of the United States Navy.
• On June 4th, 1920, Congress passed a bill that stated that the Secretary of the Navy would have the power "to conserve, develop, use and operate the same in his discretion, directly or by contract, lease, or otherwise, and to use, store, exchange, or sell the oil and gas products thereof, and those from all royalty oil from lands in the naval reserves, for the benefit of the United States."
Elk Hills,CaliforniaElk Hills,California
19121912
U.S. NAVYU.S. NAVY
O I LO I LTeapot Dome,Wyoming
Property of U.S. NAVY
Teapot Dome,Wyoming
Property of U.S. NAVY
The oil reserves of Teapot Dome, Wyoming, and Elk Hills, California shall be for US Naval use only.
President William H. TaftPresident William H. Taft
• In March of 1921, President Warren Harding appointed Albert Fall as Secretary of the Interior.
Pres. Warren Harding Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall
Secretary of the Interior Albert Fall
Harry Sinclair
(Mammoth Oil Corp.)
Edward L. Doheny (Pan-American Petroleum)
Yo, Albert buddy! How about letting
Edward and I drill for oil in Elk Hills and
Teapot Dome!
But that’s Naval
property! You can’t drill
there!
Maybe $100,000 would help you
change your mind!
Why didn’t you say so, Ed? You’ve got a deal!
I appoint Albert Fall to be the Secretary of the Interior.
President Warren G. HardingPresident Warren G. Harding
Psssssst. Albert,Take this. Ooh la la!
A hundred thousand dollars!
Why thank you very much Harry
Sinclair of the Mammoth Oil
Corp and Edward Doheny of Pan
American Petroleum.
• Later that year Fall decided that two of his friends, Harry F. Sinclair (Mammoth Oil Corporation) and Edward L. Doheny (Pan-American Petroleum and Transport Company), should be allowed to lease part of these Naval Reserves.
• In 1923, Harding died of a heart attack. Vice-President Calvin Coolidge took over.
Elk Hills,CaliforniaElk Hills,California
Teapot Dome,Oil reserved
forU.S. NAVY
Teapot Dome,Oil reserved
forU.S. NAVY
Mammoth Oil Corp
19211921
U.S. NAVYU.S. NAVY
O I LO I L
Pan American
PetroleumPan American
Petroleum
Hey, the bribe worked, Harry. Our buddy Albert let us lease Naval reserves and drill for oil.
Sssssweet Ed!
• In 1927, Fall was found guilty of accepting a $100,000 bribe from Doheny. He was forced to resign from office and spent one year in jail.
• The land was naval property, and should not have been leased to private oil companies.
Except I’m in jail!
1927
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