How do so many people in positions of authority who have abused their power evade punishment for so long? Possibly because citizens fail to come forward. But, why do people shrink from their “civil duty” of turning in unethical officials? Why do so many people wonder if fighting the politically corrupt is worth the effort? Perhaps, because they have prime examples of the painstaking course of justice with limited reward as evidenced in the Teapot Dome Scandal. The Teapot Dome Scandal involved multiple presidential cabinet members accused of fraud during William G. Harding’s presidency. Essentially, the cabinet members took bribes to lease naval oil reserves out to private investors. One of these oil reserves was located in Salt Creek, Wyoming (also known as Teapot Dome because of the land’s topography). At first, all appeared…show more content… However, the investigation alone ended up taking over six years and eating up plenty of government funds. Was the Teapot Dome Scandal a triumph of the justice system and government investigation or did it make a mockery of them? Looking back, the Teapot Dome Scandal initially appears successful. After all, the facts were brought to light and those who took bribes were held responsible in a court of law. Yet, a blind eye is turned to the poor example the scandal made of justice itself. First, the Teapot Dome scandal revealed the slow pace at which the government often works. In this case, the sluggish rate at which the investigation crept along was not entirely the government’s fault. They had to be thorough to make a trial worthwhile. Which leads to the second sad blow to justice - uncovering corruption in