Scoundrels

Political Scandals in American History

J. Michael Martinez

• Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
• Year: 2023
• Edition: 1
• eBook ISBN:
  9781538130803
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: North American History
• Index: History

"American history buffs will savor this detailed yet accessible roundup of political imbroglios." —Publishers Weekly
Political scandals have become an indelible feature of the American political system since the creation of the republic more than two centuries ago. In his previous book, Libertines: American Political Sex Scandals from Alexander Hamilton to Donald Trump, Michael Martinez explored why public figures sometimes take extraordinary risks, sullying their good names, humiliating their families, placing themselves in legal jeopardy, and potentially destroying their political careers as they seek to gratify their sexual desires. In Scoundrels, Martinez examines thirteen of the most famous (or infamous) and not-so-famous political scandals of other sorts in American history, including the Teapot Dome case from the 1920s, the Watergate break-in and cover-up in the 1970s, the Iran-Contra affair of the 1980s, and Russian interference in the 2016 elections. Combining riveting storytelling with insights into 200 years of American political corruption, Martinez has once again written a book that will enlighten all readers interested in human nature and political history.

Table of contents

• Introduction and Acknowledgments
• 1 “The Day Will Come, When Another & a More Pure & Virtuous Legislature, Will Make Null & Void This Sale of Birthright”: The Yazoo Land Fraud
• 2 “If I Were to Name This, I Would Call It the Will o’ Wisp Treason”: The Aaron Burr Conspiracy
• 3 “Mr. Sumner, I Have Read Your Speech Twice Over Carefully. It Is a Libel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, Who Is a Relative of Mine”: The Caning of Charles Sumner
• 4 “Have Those Men Dismissed by 3 O’Clock This Afternoon or Shut Down the Bureau”: Grant Administration Scandals of the 1870s
• 5 “Do You Believe This Man Is a Crook? If He Is a Crook, Convict Him”: The Teapot Dome Scandal
• 6 “I Am the Only Candidate Inspected by the United States Government and Found to Be 100 Percent Pure”: William “Wild Bill” Langer
• 7 “Nobody Sat Down in Front of Me with a Suitcase of Money”: Spiro Agnew
• 8 “I Am Not a Crook”: The Watergate Scandal
• 9 “Money Talks in This Business, and Bullshit Walks”: The Abscam Scandal
• 10 “I Have Been in Government Long Enough to Know That You Don’t Have to Ask the Question Explicitly to Know What the Message Is”: The Savings and Loan Scandal
• 11 “I Told the American People I Did Not Trade Arms for Hostages”: The Iran-Contra Affair
• 12 “All He Was Worried about Was Jack. Jack Has to Get His Next Big Check”: Jack Abramoff and Influence Peddling
• 13 “Everybody’s Trying to Get Me. It’s Unfair. Now Everybody’s Saying I’m Going to Be Impeached”: 2016 Russian Election Interference
• Afterword
• Notes
• Bibliography
• About the Author