Throughout the 240 years that the great American Republic has existed, we’ve had our fair share of scandals, lying and nefarious deeds. Entire wars have been shrouded in controversy (I’m looking at you, Vietnam) and we’ve even threatened to impeach presidents over the ordeals.

The 2016 election itself has centered around two candidates: political outsider Donald Trump, and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Clinton’s part in Benghazi and her email scandal are two reasons why 68 percent of American voters agree that she’s not trustworthy, according to a recent poll. With that being said, we should talk about some of the other scandals that have happened in the last two centuries, and why they’re important to acknowledge.

1. The Jefferson/Hemings Scandal

Administration: Thomas Jefferson

What happened: In the early days of the American Republic, slavery was a vital part of our economy. As you can imagine, then, many of our founding fathers owned slaves. Thomas Jefferson, our third president, was rumored to have sexual relations with slave Sally Hemings, and it’s even said that he fathered some of her children. This report explores some of the investigation, including data, oral histories and primary documents.

2. The Petticoat Affair

Administration: Andrew Jackson

What happened: While Andrew Jackson wasn’t directly involved in this scandal, it’s one of the more risqué cabinet controversies in our history. Early in his presidency, Jackson appointed John Eaton as his Secretary of War. It sounds harmless, but it totally wasn’t. Eaton had very previously married a young tavern maid named Margaret Peggy Eaton, who supposedly seduced many men and had many illicit affairs in her first marriage to John B. Timberlake…including one with John Eaton himself. Because this was 1829, that was *sooooo* outrageous. It was also highly publicized because Margaret’s husband died unexpectedly, rumored to have committed suicide in his despair. When Margaret and John Eaton married quickly after her first husband’s death, the women of Washington were dismayed and shunned Margaret. Jackson and his then Secretary of State, Martin Van Buren, were advised not to give Eaton his position, but they did it anyway. The affair was used often to attack Jackson’s character and eventually, in 1831, Van Buren, Eaton and all but one cabinet member resigned to save Jackson some face. Basically, that’s how Van Buren ended up being the VP on Jackson’s second ticket and eventually the 8^th President of the United States.

3. The Whiskey Ring Scandal

Administration: Ulysses S. Grant

What happened: Basically, there was a secret political clique that revolved around the whiskey business in the early 1870s. It was a ring that was initiated in St. Louis and ran through Chicago, Milwaukee, New Orleans and Peoria. The men involved in this scandal — including Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin Bristow — used the ring to diverge tax revenues on liquor. That’s right — cabinet members used tax dollars to run a Whiskey Ring. There was later a pretty extensive trial conducted by General John Brooks Henderson and James Broadhead.

4. The Credit Mobiliér Scandal

Administration: Ulysses S. Grant

What happened: As some of you might know, the first transcontinental railroad was completed during Grant’s presidency. Stockholders of the Union Pacific Railroad formed the Credit Mobiliér Company, through which they assigned contracts to build the railroad. Seems innocent, right? Not so much. Congressmen were given shares and approved fairly lucrative federal subsidies that made enormous profits for the railroad builders and, in turn, the Congressmen. The scandal resulted in the censure of House members Oakes Ames and James Brooks and destroyed the careers of others.

Fun fact:Thomas Durant, a character featured in AMC’s “Hell on Wheels,” was responsible for creating the financial structure of the Credit Mobiliér Company. Cool, right?

5. The Teapot Dome Scandal

Administration: Warren G. Harding

What happened: The U.S. Navy had a responsibility in the early 1900s to convert coal to fuel oil. In an odd turn of events, President Harding issued an executive order in 1921 that shifted control of the Teapot Dome Oil Field in Natrona County, Wyoming, the Elk Hills and Buena Vista Oil Fields in Kern County, California from the Navy to the Department of the Interior. He did this under the influence of his good friend and Secretary of the Interior, Albert Fall. Fall then made secret deals with prominent oil men who bribed him to give them access to drill in the three petroleum reserves. An investigation opened when Wyoming Governor Leslie Miller became suspicious of Sinclair trucks hauling drilling equipment into the Teapot Dome reserve. At the same time, President Harding died suddenly in a trip across the nation, effectively escaping a scandal that surely would have resulted in his impeachment. Secretary Fall was later investigated, convicted, and sent to prison. He was the first cabinet member to be indicted while serving.

6. Kennedy's Promiscuous Behavior

Administration: John F. Kennedy

What happened: Known for his youth and his attractive appearance, it’s no surprise that JFK was caught up in his fair deal of sexual scandal. His biographer even described him as a “compulsive womanizer.” His lovers apparently included a long list of women, ranging from prominent career women to strippers. Even after his marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier, Kennedy continued his affairs. It’s rumored that during his presidency, he was involved in affairs with actress Marilyn Monroe, then 19-year-old student and intern Mimi Alford and Los Angeles socialite Judith Campbell Exner. While these scandals could have ended Kennedy’s presidency, he continued to have his affairs and was never formally punished before his assassination in 1963.

7. The Pentagon Papers

Administration: Lyndon B. Johnson

What happened: The Vietnam War was shrouded in controversy for many reasons. There wasn’t a clear and specific reason why we were there, and many citizens felt our presence was unnecessary. The war was heavily protested. From 1945 to 1967, there was a secret study of the United States’ political and military involvement in Vietnam. In March of 1971, military analyst Daniel Ellsberg felt that the report should be available for the public eye, and secretly photocopied it and gave it the New York Times. The Times released several articles about the report’s contents. It later became a Supreme Court Case (New York Times Co. v. United States) in which the Court ruled that the Times could continue the publication of the report. Ellsberg was later charged with conspiracy, theft of government property and espionage for leaking the information. The charges were later dropped during the Watergate Scandal when it was found that President Nixon had engaged in efforts to discredit Ellsberg.

8. The Watergate Scandal

Administration: Richard Nixon

What happened: Perhaps the most well-known scandal in the history of the United States, Watergate was the scandal that ended Richard Nixon’s presidency. It’s even what most modern scandals are nicknamed after, like 2012’s Bridgegate. Nixon’s re-election team sent burglars into the Watergate Hotel on the night of June 16, 1972, to steal secret documents and wire-tap phones in the office of the Democratic National Committee. While it was unclear whether Nixon knew about the burglary himself, he spent money trying to cover up his involvement shortly after. He made attempts to stop the FBI’s investigation and fired uncooperative staff members. In July of 1974, Nixon was ordered by the Supreme Court to hand over the tape. The tape known as the “Smoking Gun” proved his guilt, and the House moved to impeach him. Nixon resigned before they could, and his successor, Gerald Ford, later pardoned his actions in an attempt to move beyond the scandal.

Fun fact: Because of these events, Gerald Ford effectively became the first and only President not to have been directly elected by the people. Nixon’s VP Spiro Agnew resigned when he was under investigation for tax evasion, and as per procedure, Ford moved up from his position as Speaker of the House to Vice President, later becoming President when Nixon resigned.

9. The Iran-Contra Affair

Administration: Ronald Reagan

What happened: Much of Reagan’s presidency was spent attempting to defeat communism. The Contras, an anti-communist group in Nicaragua, was a group that Reagan was fond of, and one that would bring scandal to his presidency. Reagan made sure that the CIA helped in training this group and many others across the globe. The assistance that the CIA and U.S. government provided also included funding, which is where the scandal comes in. After a Democratic Congress was elected, the President had trouble getting funding for the Contras. Congress even passed the Boland Amendment to restrict operations in Nicaragua. Reagan was also dealing with a hostage situation in which Iranian terrorists were holding Americans in Lebanon and demanding rewards for their release. Reagan and his administration then sold weapons to Iran secretly — during an embargo with Iran — in an effort to provide funding for the Contras and to cure Reagan’s obsession with bringing hostages home. Three hostages were released and replaced with three more. An Iranian newspaper later ran an exposé on the situation, and Reagan denied the affairs. Reagan was never charged with any crimes and managed to leave office with the highest approval rating since FDR.

10. The Lewinsky Scandal

Administration: Bill Clinton

What happened: We’re all a little more familiar with this one, as most of us were alive or born shortly after this affair. Bill Clinton, charming as he was, was involved in multiple sexual scandals throughout his career. When he first ran in 1992, Gennifer Flowers came forward and claimed that she had a 12-year affair with Clinton. After defeating the feeding frenzy, Clinton moved forward with his campaign and went on to win a very close election against George H.W. Bush. The Lewinsky scandal came to light in 1998, when Monica Lewinsky came forward and announced that she and Clinton had sexual encounters nine times between 1995 and 1997. Clinton stated in a speech that he had no such relations, and continued to deny the allegations. After investigation, Clinton was charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. The House of Representatives moved to impeach him, but he was acquitted by the Senate and remained in office.

11. The Benghazi Incident

Administration: Barack Obama

What happened: On the eve of September 11, 2012, terrorists attacked a U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. It ended with the death of four American citizens and the evacuation of the compound. U.S. officials met with Libyan leaders two days before the attack, warning of danger to come. Did U.S. officials know, and did they take action? Hillary Clinton, who was Secretary of State at the time, has been on trial since then. Many Americans believe that the blame is hers, as she was in charge of foreign operations at that time. As the trial is ongoing, exactly what happened is still unclear, so I invite you all to discuss below what you think happened and who is at fault.

As you can all see, scandal and controversy is not a new topic in the United States. The question, is then: is it excusable? Should we care? How should this effect the 2016 election as a whole? I invite you, again, to offer your opinions, and to think about the good and bad parts of our history.