Crime And Corruption Wave In The 1920s

Crime and Corruption Wave in the 1920s Despite the 1920s being known as one of the greatest eras of all time due to its luxurious lifestyles and inordinate parties that seemed to start when the sun disappeared and didn't end until the sun once more appeared again, nevertheless, the 1920s was also a time where corruption in government, gang violence and crimes against U.S. law an insurmountable rise that had its disastrous consequences. At the time, President Warren G. Harding was a president that was adored by many, but shortly after his unexpected death, scandals such as the Harding Administration Scandal and the Teapot Scandal came to light and ruined the reputation of this once adored president. Another form of corruption seen at the time

It was just before his very unusual death in San Franciso, that the public began to learn about the amount of corruption that had infiltrated his administration. This discovery was know as the Harding Administration Scandal and The Teapot Scandal, where Harding’s Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall, convinced the Secretary of the Navy to transfer over naval oil reserves to the Interior Department, which was signed off by President Warren G. Harding (Most Corrupt Administration in U.S. History Par.5). Under his control, Secretary Fall leased oil drilling rights to private oil companies for oil reserves in the Elk Hills, California, and Teapot Dome, Wyoming, in exchange for Liberty Bonds and large “loans” from these companies (Par. 5). Secretary Fall later on resigned, but was still convicted for playing a role in the scandal and was sentenced to nine months in prison (Par.5). Of the two and a half years that President Harding was in office, his administration is said to be one of the most corrupt because of the large contribution they had in land speculation in exchange for bribes (Par.7). When the public heard about the scandals, President Harding lost his reputation as one of the greatest presidents and was said to be one of the worst presidents in all of U.S. history, and the circumstances

The Cincinnati Reds had defeated the Chicago White Sox by a surprising score of 10-5 which many did not expect (Evan Par.1). Rumors had already been passed around that the game was fixed before it had even started, but it wasn't until a couple months after that it was publicly announced that gamblers had payed off several White Sox players to intentionally lose the game (Par.1). Of the multiple players that were involved in the gamble, one of them was Joe Jackson, know as “Shoeless”, who was later on put on trial for conspiracy and was banned from playing professional baseball for the rest of his life. It is believed that the the fixing of the World Series first started off with C. Arnold, White Sox's first baseman, who was payed off by gambler Joseph Sullivan to lose the series (Par.2). This was a major turning point in all of baseball history as baseball players had been known to sabotage games, but only in a small manner, nobody would have ever imagined of fixing the World Series. The players that were involved in the Fixing of the World Series were a representation of how corruption has infiltrated all aspects of life at the time. It wasn’t only seen in baseball games, but rather spread to other sports as well showing a new era of athletics where money was the real prize to win, not honor or respect or even a trophy, but