Whiskey Ring

The Whiskey Ring, was a scandal in the Grant administration, in which revenues on liquor taxes were siphoned off to republicans. many were convicted in this scandal, the end result being 110 convictions. Secretary of the Treasury B. H. Bristow detected the scandal, and busted the extensive network of lawbreakers. Oliver Babcock was convicted, and he was the private secretary to president Grant. Ulysses S. Grant was not directly involved in any of the scandals during his term, but people he was trusted to hire, were exposed as being corrupt and immoral. For this reason, Grant became an emblem of Republican corruption.

Whisky, or Whiskey, Ring . (U. S. Hist.)

A conspiracy of distillers and government officials during the administration of President Grant to defraud the government of the excise taxes. The frauds were detected in 1875 through the efforts of the Secretary of the Treasury. B. H. Bristow, and most of the offenders were convicted.

© Webster 1913