The Pendergast Machine in Kansas City
Thomas Pendergast used his position as the Chairman of the Jackson County Missouri Democratic Party to control Kansas City and Jackson County from the mid-1920s through 1939, along the way helping a failed clothing merchant named Harry Truman enter politics. Pendergast briefly held office as an Alderman before using his position as party chairman to control the city and county governments, enriching himself in the process.
During prohibition Kansas City was openly promoted as a wide open town, with both alcohol and gambling allowed despite both being outlawed by federal law in the first case, and Missouri law in the second. Bribery of the Kansas City police force ensured that businesses which were friendly to Pendergast remained unmolested by officers. Pendergast routinely fixed elections to ensure those in political power were friendly to him, in return city and county contracts were awarded to supportive businesses, many of them his own.
Pendergast wooed voters, particularly among the poor and unemployed during the Depression, by hosting lavish dinners during holidays, and by arranging jobs with the city or county, often through his own companies. During the heyday of his machine, voter turnout was frequently near 100%, despite many people later claiming to not have voted. Others voted more than once. Walter Cronkite later recalled being driven to the polls by Pendergast men several times and voting repeatedly in one election while working for UPI in Kansas City, each time under a different name.
Pendergast extended his reach into nearby cities such as Omaha and Wichita, through family connections and business cronies. By the mid-1930s some of his supporters were involved with organized crime and election related violence and intimidation became more rampant. When Missouri Governor Lloyd Stark’s (whom Pendergast has supported) election was revealed to have been corrupted by the Pendergast machine Stark turned against him, supporting federal investigations into the machine.
Pendergast’s influence began to wane in the mid-1930s as federal investigations and poor health took their toll on him. In 1939 he was convicted of tax evasion and served fifteen months for failing to report money he had received as a bribe. After completing his sentence he effectively retired from politics. When he died in 1945 then Vice President Harry Truman attended his funeral, the only elected political figure to do so.