Collection of IN Special Liquor Tax Stubs from 1875-1876 WHISKEY RING Scandal

The stubs name various liquor dealers throughout Indiana. It is a fascinating grouping that identifies persons and companies in a post-Civil War business environment during the Whiskey Ring scandal. The scheme involved an extensive network of bribes involving distillers, government officials, rectifiers, gaugers, storekeepers, and internal revenue agents.

Due to its ties within the government, the Whiskey Ring was thought to be impregnable. Secretary of the Treasury Benjamin Bristow, working without the knowledge of the President or the Attorney General, broke up the tightly connected and politically powerful ring using secret agents from outside the Treasury Department to conduct a series of raids across the country on May 10, 1875. The trials began at Jefferson City, Missouri in October 1875.

Grant appointed General John Brooks Henderson a former U. Senator from Missouri to serve as special prosecutor in charge of the indictments and trials, but Grant eventually fired Gen. Henderson for challenging Grant's interference in the prosecutions.

Grant replaced Henderson with attorney James Broadhead. The Whiskey Ring was seen by many as a sign of corruption under the Republican governments that took power across the nation following the American Civil War. Babcock, the private secretary to the President, was indicted as a member of the ring. He was acquitted through the personal intervention and testimony of President Grant.

Newspapers at the time were known to slant toward a Republican agenda, making light of the trial. This led many people to think the Whiskey Ring was a ploy for the Republican party to increase their funds. For this reason, President Grant, although not directly involved in the ring, came to be seen as emblematic of Republican corruption, and later scandals involving his Secretary of War William W.

Belknap only confirmed that perception. The Whiskey Ring, along with other alleged abuses of power by the Republican party, contributed to a national weariness of Reconstruction, which ended Grant's presidency with the Compromise of 1877. It is a fascinating grouping that identifies persons and companies in a post-Civil War business environment in the Hooser state during the Whiskey Ring scandal. Photos do not picture all the stubs and owners included in this lot. Get Supersized Images & Free Image Hosting. Create your brand with Auctiva's. Attention Sellers - Get Templates Image Hosting, Scheduling at Auctiva.