What was the whiskey ring scandal? (apex)

The Whiskey Ring was a collusion between a group of American politicians and whiskey distillers during the Grant's administration. The Republican politicians then worked with the Chicago, St. Louis and Milwaukee distillers to commit massive fraud with excise duties levied by the federal government on whiskey. Instead of going into the state treasury, these excise duties mainly flowed into the pockets of the stokers, who in return paid bribes to the politicians.

Explanation:

In 1875, US Finance Minister Benjamin H. Bristow put an end to the Ring's practices by employing secret agents from outside his department. 110 men were sentenced and more than $3 million in taxes reclaimed.

The Whiskey Ring was seen by many as a symptom of corruption in the Republican governments that led the country after the Civil War. The scandals even cast a shadow on President Grant's reputation because of his weak attitude in the cases; for example, when his private secretary was convicted on the Whiskey Ring, he received a pardon from Grant. Partly as a result of Grant's attitude, the government's mistrust began to take hold of the population and in particular of the Reconstruction - which ended after Grant's second term due to the 1877 Compromise.

(e) a major consequence of the election was that several southern states

the answer is a, salt plain