{"product_id":"scoundrels-political-scandals-in-american-history-9781538130797","title":"Scoundrels: Political Scandals in American","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e“Scandal,” defined as an action or event causing public outrage and regarded as morally or legally reprehensible by the standards and mores of the time, has been a part of the US political landscape since the founding of the republic. Americans prefer to think that their public officials’ misbehavior as the exception rather than the rule, but the record of political corruption and coverups, spanning the entire history of the United States, is too lengthy to suggest that these actions are uncommon occurrences, merely freakish outliers to be discounted as “black swan” events.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eStrongly associated with the concept of scandal is a “scoundrel,” defined as a dishonest or disreputable person. According to this definition, a scoundrel is someone who engages in dishonest behavior, eventually leading to the loss of a good reputation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScoundrels: Political Scandals in American History is about scoundrels who were caught in scandals, specifically political scandals. Often the original behavior was outrageous, but the subsequent cover-up is worse. The 1972 Watergate break-in, for example, may have been a “third-rate burglary”—although that point is debatable—but the Nixon administration’s attempted coverup led to impeachment proceedings and the president’s resignation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePolitical corruption almost always stems from calculations of self-interest before, during, and after the fact. The calculations may be legally and ethically misguided, factually inaccurate, and\/or blind to political realities, but nonetheless they are almost always deliberate and premeditated. Political corruption can involve lone individuals acting on their own accord or they can implicate systemic corruption with a large group, sometimes within a presidential administration.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eScoundrels: Political Scandals in American History examines 13 of the most famous (or infamous) and not-so-famous scandals 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.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eAmbitious, impulsive, aggressive, and reckless. Joe McCarthy sowed disorder and distrust. The opening of many archives has allowed Richard Fried to authoritatively assess McCarthy’s sensational accusations—along with those made against him. Fried's findings are chillingly relevant.\u003c\/p\u003e -- Donald A. Ritchie, US Senate historian emeritus\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eIntroduction and Acknowledgments\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 1: “The Day Will Come When Another and More Pure \u0026amp; Virtuous \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLegislature, Will Make Null \u0026amp; Void This Sale of Birthright”:The Yazoo \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLand Fraud\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 2: “If I Were to Name This, I Would Call It the Will o’ Wisp Treason”: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Aaron Burr Conspiracy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 3: “Mr. Sumner, I Have Read Your Speech Twice Over Carefully. It Is a \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLibel on South Carolina, and Mr. Butler, Who is a Relative of Mine”: The \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eCaning of Charles Sumner\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 4: “Have Those Men Dismissed by 3 O’clock This Afternoon or Shut \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDown the Bureau”: Grant Administration Scandals of the 1870s\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 5: “Do You Believe This Man is Crook? If He is a Crook, Convict \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eHim”: The Teapot Dome Scandal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 6: “I Am the Only Candidate Inspected by the United States Government \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eand Found to be 100 Percent Pure.”: William “Wild Bill” Langer\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 7: “Nobody Sat Down in Front of Me with a Suitcase of Money”: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpiro Agnew\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 8: “I Am Not a Crook”: The Watergate Scandal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 9: “Money Talks in This Business, and Bullshit Walks”: The \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbscam Scandal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 10: “I Have Been in Government Long Enough to Know That You \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDon’t Have to Ask the Question Explicitly to Know What the Message \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIs”: The Savings \u0026amp; Loan Scandal\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 11: “I Told the American People I Did Not Trade Arms for Hostages. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eMy Heart and My Best Intentions Still Tell Me That’s True, but the Facts and \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ethe Evidence Tell Me It Is Not”: The Iran-Contra Affair\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 12: “All He Was Worried About was Jack. Jack Has to Get His Next BigCheck”: Jack Abramoff and Influence Peddling\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eChapter 13: “Everybody’s Trying to Get Me. It’s Unfair. Now Everybody’s Saying I’mGoing to be Impeached”: 2016 Russian Election Interference\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAfterword\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eReferences\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rowman \u0026 Littlefield","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041154957655,"sku":"9781538130797","price":27.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781538130797.jpg?v=1750949154","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/scoundrels-political-scandals-in-american-history-9781538130797","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}