A review of decisive moments in American political history, through an ethical perspective. These issues include: 1) The American Revolution, 2) John Quincy Adams and his attack on slavery in the House of Representatives, 3) congressional ethics scandals (Credit Mobilier, Teapot Dome, Jim Wright/Newt Gingrich, Traficant, and the Tom Delay case), 4) Watergate, 5) the ethics of political advertising, 6) the duty of a political leader to tell the truth (FDR and the lead-up to WWII), 7) Hiroshoma, 8) The Cuban Missile Crisis, and 9) the ethics of the current war on terror.