Transcript Gov Presidential Controversyx

Top 10 Controversies in the
Presidency
Scandals have plagued the American presidency almost
since the founding of the country. There have been major
and minor scandals during the administration of many if
not most of the presidents. Here is a list of Top 10 Biggest
US Presidential Scandals. that rocked the presidency. also
are still live among people as an unforgettable retention.
Enjoy!
#10
Cleveland Affair
• Grover Cleveland is best known as the only president in history to be elected
for two non-sequential terms. During his first electoral campaign in 1884
information was released that he previously had an affair with a widow
named Maria C. Halpin who had given birth to a son. She claimed that
Cleveland was the father and named him Oscar Folsom Cleveland. Cleveland
agreed to pay child support and then paid to put the child in an orphanage
when she was no longer fit to raise him. Unusual for a candidate mired in
such a scandal Cleveland admitted guilt in the matter. Chants of “Ma, ma,
where’s my pa? Off to the White House, ha ha ha!” became popular
throughout the country, but it did not stop Cleveland from getting elected.
He was honest about the entire affair. This helped rather than hurt him, and
elected again in 1892.
#9
Jackson
Cabinet
Scandal
• The Petticoat affair was an 1830–1831 U.S. scandal involving members of President
Andrew Jackson’s Cabinet and their wives. This is often forgotten but at the time
major scandal under the presidency of Andrew Jackson, one of the most famous
presidents in United States history. Although it started over a private matter, it
affected the political careers of several men and resulted in the informal “Kitchen
Cabinet”. It began with the marriage of Jackson’s secretary of war, John Henry
Eaton, to recently widowed Margaret Timberlake, whose husband had committed
suicide. The marriage proved a great scandal in American high society, with rumors
that Eaton had been having an affair with Timberlake which led to her first
husband’s suicide. Most of Jackson’s cabinet turned against Eaton but Jackson
supported him, and the controversy led to such a conflict that almost Jackson’s
entire cabinet resigned over the issue. The 1936 film The Gorgeous Hussy is based
on the affair.
#8
JFK and
Marilyn
• Marilyn Monroe was perhaps the most start crossed lover in history. On one
hand was her dazzling success in tinsel town and on the other, her volatile
and highly secret relationships with the much-married President of the US
and his brother. Monroe’s name was linked to both John F Kennedy and
Robert F Kennedy.Although many in the political circles knew of the affairs,
they were carefully hushed up so that the public had no clear facts to chew
on. Monroe however was becoming a public embarrassment and had even
threatened to go public about the President’s infidelities. But her plans
were short-lived as she was found dead in her home under mysterious
circumstances. Although official reports say she committed suicide, there
have always been rumors that the Kennedys had her ‘removed’ to protect
their political image. The truth still remains elusive. All of these scandals
created a lot of furor and brought bad publicity to the politician(s) and the
political party involved. But none had such a far reaching impact as the
Watergate scandal which caused, for the first time, a reigning President to
resign fearing impeachment.
#7
Jefferson
Affair
• Thomas Jefferson’s alleged relationship with Sally Hemmings
was the first presidential s.x scandal in the United States and
prompted a discussion that continues to this day. In 1802
Jefferson was charged with having an affair with his slave,
Sally Hemmings, and in fact fathering a child. Jefferson denied
the charges and remained as president for another 7 years,
however the debate about the truth of the matter continued
until 1998 when DNA testing proved that Jefferson more than
likely fathered at least one of Sally Hemming’s children.
#6
Credit
Mobilier
• The Credit Mobilier scandal was the first major corruption scandal in the
wake of the Civil War. The Credit Mobilier company was found to be stealing
from the Union Pacific Railroad in 1868. However, they tried to cover this up
by selling stocks in their company at a large discount to government officials
and Congress members including Vice President Schuyler Colfax. When this
was discovered, it hurt many reputations including that of Ulysses S. Grant’s
VP. The story was broken by the New York newspaper, The Sun, during the
1872 presidential campaign, when S. Grant was running for re-election. The
scandal’s origins dated back to the Abraham Lincoln presidency, when the
Union Pacific Railroad was chartered in 1864 by the federal government and
the associated Crédit Mobilier was established.
#5
The
Whiskey
Ring
• Grant’s presidency is often considered to be one of the most
corrupt in history, and with good reason, as two major
scandals took place during his presidency. The second was the
Whiskey Ring scandal, involving a bribery and tax evasion
scandal among many high ranking members of his cabinet
(and even his own private secretary) and whiskey distillers. In
1875, it was revealed that many government employees were
pocketing whiskey taxes. Grant called for swift punishment
but caused further scandal when he moved to protect his
personal secretray who had been implicated in the affair.
#4
Iran Contra
Affair
• This biggest political scandal in the United States that came to
light in November 1986. During the Reagan administration, senior
administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to
Iran, the subject of an arms embargo. Several individuals in
Ronald Reagan’s administration were implicated in the IranContra Scandal. Basically, money that had been obtained through
selling arms to Iran was given secretly to the revolutionary
Contras in Nicaragua. Other than helping the Contras, the hope
was that by selling the weapons to Iran, terrorists would be more
willing to give up hostages. This scandal resulted in major
Congressional hearings.
#3
Tea Pot Dome
Scandal
• Warren G. Harding’s presidency was struck by many scandals. The Teapot
Dome scandal was the most significant. Harding transferred control of naval
oil reserve lands over to the Department of the Interior in 1921 (although it
was later reversed by the Supreme Court, who ruled the move illegal). Then
Secretary of the Interior Albert B. Fall used his new power for personal gain,
giving rights to the Teapot Dome Reserve in Wyoming to the Mammoth Oil
company in return for bribes. When the scandal broke in 1924 he was found
to have accumulated over $100,000 worth of bribes from the Mammoth Oil
Company, among others. Although Harding had already died in office prior
to the scandal breaking, it became a hot topic of controversy for years after
his death and continues to plague his now infamous legacy. Before the
Watergate scandal, Teapot Dome was regarded as the “greatest and most
sensational scandal in the history of American politics”.
#2
Watergate
• There may be many scandals in the annals of United States
presidential history, but none can compare for sheer impact with
that of the Watergate scandal under the presidency of Richard M.
This was a political scandal that occurred in the 1970s as a result
of the June 1972 break-in at the Democratic National Committee
headquarters at the Watergate office complex in Washington, D.C.,
and the Nixon administration’s attempted cover-up of its
involvement. The scandal eventually led to the resignation of
Richard Nixon, on August 9, 1974, the only resignation of a U.S.
President. The scandal also resulted in the indictment, trial,
conviction and incarceration of 43 people, including dozens of
Nixon’s top administration officials.
#1
Lewinsky
Scandal
• The Lewinsky scandal was a political s.x scandal emerging in 1998, from a
s.xual relationship between United States President Bill Clinton and a 22year-old White House intern, Monica Lewinsky.
Perhaps no other scandal in presidential history can equal the Monica
Lewinsky affair for pure sensationalism and absurdity. Bill Clinton was
implicated in a couple of scandals, the most significant for his presidency
was the Monica Lewinsky affair. Lewinsky was a White House staffer with
whom Clinton had an intimate relationship. He had previously denied this
while giving a deposition in another case which resulted in a vote to
impeach him by the House of Representatives in 1998. The Senate did not
vote to remove him from office but the event did mar his presidency as he
joined Andrew Johnson as only the second president to be impeached.
Top 10 Most Controversial Presdidents
George Bush Junior
• Bush will go down in history as one of the most controversial
presidents. After the attacks on September 11, He ordered the
invasion of Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 to overthrow the
Taliban regime. In December of 2001, the Pentagon declared the
Taliban defeated. Then in 2002 during the State of the Union
Address, Bush called Iraq an “axis of evil” and insisted the country
had “weapons of mass destruction”. The invasion of Iraq started on
March 20, 2003 and ended on April 9, 2003 with Bush declaring the
end of all combat operations. The military stayed in both countries
to provide security for 11 more years until President Obama called
for all military personnel to be out by 2014. Some compared the
two wars to the Vietnam War because of the lengths and
controversial issues regarding the reason for the invasions.
Bill Clinton
• During Clinton’s presidency he oversaw policies
putting restrictions on homosexuals. The “Dont ask
Dont tell” policy was a compromise to allow any U.S.
citizen to join the military regardless of sexual
orientation. The policy allowed gay and lesbian
individuals to served but barred them from being open
about their sexual orientation. The policy was repealed
on September 19, 2011. In 1996 Clinton signed into law
the Defense of Marriage Act. The Act defined marriage
between a man and a women and restricted federal
benefits for same sex marriages. The act was declared
illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court on June 26.
Herbert Hoover
• Many believed Hoover was to blame for one of the
worst economic downfalls in American history, The
Great Depression. After the stock market collapse,
Hoover refused to allow direct government
intervention and spending fearing it would be a step
towards socialism. He also insisted businesses keep
wages which resulted in high rates of
unemployment. During his presidency many
homeless camps emerged and became known as
“Hoovervilles” because many blamed Hoover for the
depression.
Andrew Jackson
• Andrew Jackson was in conflict with his Vice President
John C. Calhoun over the “American System” economic
plan. The plan called for high tariffs on imported
products to protect American companies. Calhoun
argued the plan was unconstitutional and wanted
individual states to have the ability to reject any federal
plan seen as unconstitutional. Jackson differed with his
vice president in order to protect the union. He
believed if states had the ability to reject any federal
plan seen as unconstitutional it could potentially divide
the union.
Thomas Jefferson
• Jefferson opposed slavery. The first draft of the
Declaration of Independence denounced Britain's
involvement in the international trade market. Even
though he was against slavery, he himself was a slave
owner. Jefferson used slaves on his plantation but
treated them better than most slave owners, giving
them more freedom and using whippings as a last
resort. Nevertheless his opposition to slavery
contradicted his personal life.
Andrew Johnson
• Johnson was in constant quarrel with his Secretary of War Edwin
Stanton. Stanton did not approve of Johnson’s stance on Southern
policy after the civil war. Johnson resisted the Republicans want to
give freedom to the former black slaves. He and Stanton would
clash constantly. In an attempt to get rid of Stanton, Johnson
suspended him and placed General Ulysses S. Grant in his place.
The Senate however disapproved of the action saying the
president violated the Tenure of Office Act and Grant stepped
down voluntarily to have Stanton reinstated. Johnson did not give
up and had Stanton suspended and replaced again but Stanton
refused to leave and Johnson was impeached for intentionally
violating the Tenure of Office Act.
Lyndon Johnson
• In 1971, two years after Johnson left office, the New York
Times released the “Pentagon Papers” to the public. The
papers were a comprehensive study from 1945-1967 about
the United States involvement in Vietnam. They revealed
Johnson along with previous presidents before him had
underlying motives in the war. It was learned Johnson
planned to expand the war even though he told the public
“we seek no wider war”. There were plans to bomb North
Vietnam before the 1964 election while Johnson campaigned
against doing so.
Abraham Lincoln
• Abraham Lincoln was the first president of the Republican
party to be elected. During the election he won only two
counties of the 996 in the southern states and only five of the
15 southern states voted for him. During his presidency the
south succeeded from the Union and formed their own
confederacy. He was controversial at the time because of his
party's stance on abolishing slavery. In 1861 war broke out
between the two parties and ended in 1865 with over a
million casualties. Five days after his second inaugural address
on April 14, 1865 President Abraham Lincoln was shot in the
head while watching a play in the Ford’s Theatre in
Washington, DC. He died the next day.
Richard Nixon
•
Nixon was the only president to quit his job. The reason came after what
became known as the “Watergate Scandal”. In June of 1972, five men were
caught breaking into the Watergate complex in Washington, DC. It was
discovered they were sifting through files and trying to plant listening
devices. Nixon denied the accusations the men were working for his
administration. It later became known Nixon had ordered his aides to plant
listening devices on people his administration deemed suspicious. During
Court hearings it was also discovered Nixon secretly taped conversations held
in the Oval Office. At first Nixon refused to release the tapes but when he
finally did, many were missing or destroyed. After months of court hearings
and accusations, Nixon admitted to knowing of the incident soon after it
happened. On August 9, 1974 Nixon broadcasted his resignation speech to
the public.
Barrack Obama
• This year has a been hard on the Obama Administration. It
was learned the administration had evidence of the terrorist
attack in Benghazi last year on September 11. After the
attacks, the administration first called the attack a result of
the riots over a video portraying the Prophet Muhammad on
Youtube but it was later found through emails the
administration knew it was a terrorist attack. Some compared
Benghazi incident to Watergate and even talked about
impeachment.
The Mystery
•JKF