Teapot Dome was a scandal in the Harding administration. Administration of naval oil reserves in Wyoming and California were transferred to the dept of the Interior and were leased (kickbacks included) to private companies. Sinclair (ever heard of Sinclair Oil?) was one. Basically corruption and stealing from the gov. A big deal in the early 1920's when we were just getting back to normal after WWI.
A lot of authors will be able to do a better job of explaining this.