Behind the Scenes in Washington

In 1864 the federal government created the Union Pacific Railroad, gave it $100 million of taxpayer money and tasked the new company with building a transcontinental railroad. Union Pacific executive Thomas C. Durant saw a moneymaking opportunity. He formed a construction company called Crédit Mobilier and through Union Pacific awarded a contract to himself to build the railroad. What ensued was a sophisticated fraud involving cooked books, conflict of interest and bribed government officials that lasted nearly eight years. This book details Congress' eventual investigation of the fraud and provides a general "tourist" view of Washington, D.C.