Tom Pendergast
Thomas Joseph Pendergast (born July 22, 1873 in St. Joseph , Missouri , † January 26, 1945 in Kansas City , Missouri) was an American businessman and politician.
Pendergast was since 1911 the economic and partly also political ruler in Kansas City and Jackson County . "Boss Tom" Pendergast pursued within the Democratic Party , a populist policies . Especially during the Great Depression, he created jobs, worked closely with the Mafia and formed clanships in the party, through which those loyal to him (for example Harry S. Truman ) had good opportunities for advancement. Although personally loyal to churchgoers and teetotalers, he controlled the nightlife in Kansas City at the time of Prohibition and helped it to a unique boom that was conducive to the emergence of Kansas City jazz . Due to his gambling addiction and the excesses of his subordinates, he increasingly slipped control of Kansas City and Jackson County in the 1930s. He was finally convicted of tax evasion in 1939 and served a 15-month sentence in Leavenworth Federal Prison . After his release, he lived in seclusion in his home in Kansas City until his death.
Web links
- Overview of Politics and Corruption in Missouri
- Truman Library on the Truman-Pendergast relationship
- Kansas City Police: The "Pendergast Machine"
- Biography at Missouri Valley Special Collections
- Tom Pendergast in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Pendergast, Tom |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Pendergast, Thomas Joseph |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American entrepreneur and politician |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 22, 1873 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | St. Joseph , Missouri |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 26, 1945 |
| Place of death | Kansas City , Missouri |