I think you misunderstood. I was pointing out that, in the country which came into being (twice) through a war fought principally to preserve rich, slave-holding landowners' right to hold or gain further land and slaves, it's going to be difficult to find a period in which corrupt dealings and amoral excesses weren't present. George Washington was Bill Gates with some martial chutzpah, and he sent thousands of men to bloody deaths over stated, explicit ideals that he purposely refused to fully execute on because it would have devalued his estate.

We can be better than that, it's just no surprise when we're not, because we historically have not been.