Harding's speeches also made it hard to tell whether he was for or against joining the League of Nations. There were also many things that were not 'normal' for America. In 1921, On May 19 the first Immigration Quota Act was passed. One good thing about Harding's administration, however, is that Mrs. Alice M. Robertson of Oklahoma was the first Congresswoman to preside over the House of Representatives. But there were of course bad times too. Many of his cabinet members were involved in a scandal that ruined Harding’s reputation. This was known as the " Teapot Dome Affair.” The Harding administration was remembered as corrupt mostly because of all the scandals that took place. Harding also was not sure about his own political abilities, so he promised to rely on “The best of minds” for his cabinet. But most men in his cabinet lacked a sense of civic responsibilities, and most ended up going to jail. Harding followed mostly a pro-business republican agenda. Taxes were reduced but mostly for wealthy companies. During his presidency he restricted immigration, signed the budget act of 1921, and appointed Herbert Hoover as secretary of state, who later became the 31st …show more content…
Senate. Origins of the scandal went back to the growth of federal conservation policy in the presidencies of Theodore Roosevelt, Taft, and Wilson, specifically to the creation of naval petroleum reserves in Wyoming and California.
The "Teapot Dome Affair" was perhaps the most important and remembered scandal of Harding's time as president. After jurisdiction over naval oil reserves were transferred to the Department of the Interior, secretary Albert B. Fall leased Teapot Dome to oil companies in which he owed a private debt to in exchange for money. He was eventually sentenced to time in a federal prison because of his actions. The incident also resulted in the resignation of Secretary of Navy Edwin N. Denby, who had approved the transfer of the land.
In 1921, Senator Albert B. Fall of New Mexico, became Harding's secretary of the interior and quickly moved to open scandals. Though he tried to keep his scandal secret he could not, and the Senate authorized an investigation by the committee on the