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The Pendergast Machine
Lyle W. Dorsett outlines the rise, peak, and fall of the Pendergrast Machine in Kansas City during the 1920’s and 30’s. The book was written to explain how the machine gained its power, and how Jim Pendergrast built the foundation of the machine into one that Tom Pendergrast could strengthen enough to dominate Missouri politics.
163 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1968
19 people want to read
About the author
Lyle Wesley Dorsett
41 books26 followersLyle W. Dorsett received his B.A. in history (1960) and M.A. in history (1962) from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Missouri-Columbia (1965). He began his teaching career at the University of Missouri, moving briefly to the Univ. of Southern California and University of Colorado at Denver, before he joined the history department at the University of Denver.
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October 31, 2012
In The Pendergrast Machine, Lyle W. Dorsett outlines the rise, peak, and fall of the Pendergrast Machine in Kansas City during the 1920’s and 30’s. The book was written to explain how the machine gained its power, and how Jim Pendergrast built the foundation of the machine into one that Tom Pendergrast could strengthen enough to dominate Missouri politics.
The first two chapters outline Jim Pendergrast’s rise to political power through the creation of an internal network in the Kansas City’s First Ward located in the River Bottoms in the area. He gained his influence by becoming a well-known business person opening a saloon in an area known as the West Bottoms where he had lived and worked since childhood. He gained enough clout in the area to represent it for eighteen years, representing it as a city council member. He expanded his political power into the area known as the North End when he opened a second saloon. Both areas were ethnically diverse and contained poor laborers allowing for his influence to be spread easily by providing perks, services, and individual favors to the residents. Pendergrast expanded his influence in Kansas City politics through compromise with other elected officials and by supporting less enforcement of gambling and drinking laws in the city. Dorsett explains Jim Pendergrast’s one downfall as his inability to gain control of the entire city because he was forced to separate power with another powerful boss. Joe Shannon had consolidated the Democratic power in surrounding Jackson County forcing a fifty-fifty split between the two who got to appoint the same amount of members to Kansas City’s Police Commission.
Next, Dorsett deals with the end of Jim Pendergrast’s political career and the impending rise of his younger brother Tom to follow him as the boss of the River Wards. Here, he explains that Jim began to fade politically as his health diminished. While he was resting and regaining strength, his three brothers helped to run his wards and Thomas stood out as the one who would be his eventual heir.
The next three chapters explain Tom Pendergrast’s expansion and consolidation of power by pushing through a new franchise for the transportation system and gaining members of his legion at the county level. He moved away from the fifty-fifty rule and ventured to gain seats at the county level that would support him. He was successful in getting twenty nine out of the possible forty one members put on the county committee and expanded his power there. Dorsett explains that he did this differently than Jim in the fact that he would use illegal practices to fund his machine and used repeat voters to get the vote to swing his way. He did have some competition for the position of boss in the city from Joe Shannon’s faction of Democrats and Pendergrast had to consolidate the power of his party before becoming the city boss. He did so by gaining appointments to the police and court, especially in Harry Truman who went against the typical crooked politics. Truman ran the county court, cutting down the amount of corruption left by his predecessors. This seems contradictory to Pendergrast’s techniques, but gained him favor with the local newspapers that never supported any of his candidates for office. After consolidating power in the party, he moved on to control the city after a nonpartisan charter was passed creating a city-manager system with nine board members. Pendergrast’s regime was able to maintain a majority of the board and was then able to control the city at-large. He was now the city boss and became more popular during prohibition by protecting speakeasies and taverns.
Chapters seven and eight outline Pendergrast’s growth of influence in state and national government. First, he expanded his power in Missouri by getting his democratic candidate elected to governor. His original choice Francis M. Wilson was supported by the rural population of the state and because of this earned Pendergrast’s support. After getting the party nomination, he died of a stomach disease and Pendergrast picked Judge Guy B. Park who was unknown in most parts of the state. Pendergrast’s influence is evident here, where he garnered enough support to get his candidate elected in three weeks’ time. He benefited from his candidate being in office and had his hand in most appointments at the state level. His support would spread during the Depression from the state office to the national one by gaining support from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. In response to the Pendergrast Machine’s influence in getting Roosevelt the democratic nomination, Roosevelt allowed Pendergrast free reign over the disbursement of New Deal funds. Pendergrast also was relevant in helping Truman gain his seat in the Missouri Senate in order to get his man, Matthew M. Murray appointed as the state director of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). With this appointment, Pendergrast had control over anybody who got a job with the WPA and therefore earned their vote in future elections.
Finally, Dorsett explains the fall of the Pendergrast Machine and attributes it to the exposure of corruption by Governor Lloyd Stark who was put in the position with Pendergrast’s assistance. Stark turned his back on Pendergrast and began a smear campaign against him by investigating the voter fraud that so many new about but ignored. After the impending investigation, President Roosevelt disenchanted himself from Pendergrast and questioned his use of the WPA to say elections. Pendergrast would serve five years of probation and his machine fell with him. The Democrats have failed since to become as strong as they were during Pendergrast’s era in Missouri with their only positive gain in getting Harry Truman to the presidency and reelection.
Reviewers of the book mention its strength in prose, and an interesting writing style but one that is very vague and uses too many generalizations. Most specifically J. Joseph Huthmacher criticizes Dorsett’s assumption that the Pendergrast Machine was built on immigrants while pointing out that Kansas City only contained 6% at its peak. Another strength and weakness, mentioned by Seymour G. Mandelbaum is the fact that Dorsett narrows his subject down to only the Pendergrast family. This is a strength because he does not fall into the trap of praising or condemning Tom Pendergrast but a weakness because he does not show the broad picture of the machine’s effect on the beliefs about government or politics.
The book is an important addition to the study of the Progressive Era because it is one of the only resources and studies of the dynamics of the Pendergrast Machine. Dorsett outlines an overlooked part of it as an entity that was good for Kansas City and its people. He writes that the machines successes were allowed because the people of the city were benefitting from its rule. It is well written as a chronological narrative of the machine and its history. Dorsett writes in an easy to read and understand while providing insight into the life of Jim and Tom Pendergrast. The book is well documented using hundreds of primary sources including the papers, letters, and newspaper articles. The book gives insight into the machine as a positive entity over a negative one only bringing this point up at the end when he discusses its fall.
The first two chapters outline Jim Pendergrast’s rise to political power through the creation of an internal network in the Kansas City’s First Ward located in the River Bottoms in the area. He gained his influence by becoming a well-known business person opening a saloon in an area known as the West Bottoms where he had lived and worked since childhood. He gained enough clout in the area to represent it for eighteen years, representing it as a city council member. He expanded his political power into the area known as the North End when he opened a second saloon. Both areas were ethnically diverse and contained poor laborers allowing for his influence to be spread easily by providing perks, services, and individual favors to the residents. Pendergrast expanded his influence in Kansas City politics through compromise with other elected officials and by supporting less enforcement of gambling and drinking laws in the city. Dorsett explains Jim Pendergrast’s one downfall as his inability to gain control of the entire city because he was forced to separate power with another powerful boss. Joe Shannon had consolidated the Democratic power in surrounding Jackson County forcing a fifty-fifty split between the two who got to appoint the same amount of members to Kansas City’s Police Commission.
Next, Dorsett deals with the end of Jim Pendergrast’s political career and the impending rise of his younger brother Tom to follow him as the boss of the River Wards. Here, he explains that Jim began to fade politically as his health diminished. While he was resting and regaining strength, his three brothers helped to run his wards and Thomas stood out as the one who would be his eventual heir.
The next three chapters explain Tom Pendergrast’s expansion and consolidation of power by pushing through a new franchise for the transportation system and gaining members of his legion at the county level. He moved away from the fifty-fifty rule and ventured to gain seats at the county level that would support him. He was successful in getting twenty nine out of the possible forty one members put on the county committee and expanded his power there. Dorsett explains that he did this differently than Jim in the fact that he would use illegal practices to fund his machine and used repeat voters to get the vote to swing his way. He did have some competition for the position of boss in the city from Joe Shannon’s faction of Democrats and Pendergrast had to consolidate the power of his party before becoming the city boss. He did so by gaining appointments to the police and court, especially in Harry Truman who went against the typical crooked politics. Truman ran the county court, cutting down the amount of corruption left by his predecessors. This seems contradictory to Pendergrast’s techniques, but gained him favor with the local newspapers that never supported any of his candidates for office. After consolidating power in the party, he moved on to control the city after a nonpartisan charter was passed creating a city-manager system with nine board members. Pendergrast’s regime was able to maintain a majority of the board and was then able to control the city at-large. He was now the city boss and became more popular during prohibition by protecting speakeasies and taverns.
Chapters seven and eight outline Pendergrast’s growth of influence in state and national government. First, he expanded his power in Missouri by getting his democratic candidate elected to governor. His original choice Francis M. Wilson was supported by the rural population of the state and because of this earned Pendergrast’s support. After getting the party nomination, he died of a stomach disease and Pendergrast picked Judge Guy B. Park who was unknown in most parts of the state. Pendergrast’s influence is evident here, where he garnered enough support to get his candidate elected in three weeks’ time. He benefited from his candidate being in office and had his hand in most appointments at the state level. His support would spread during the Depression from the state office to the national one by gaining support from President Franklin D. Roosevelt and his New Deal. In response to the Pendergrast Machine’s influence in getting Roosevelt the democratic nomination, Roosevelt allowed Pendergrast free reign over the disbursement of New Deal funds. Pendergrast also was relevant in helping Truman gain his seat in the Missouri Senate in order to get his man, Matthew M. Murray appointed as the state director of the Works Progress Administration (WPA). With this appointment, Pendergrast had control over anybody who got a job with the WPA and therefore earned their vote in future elections.
Finally, Dorsett explains the fall of the Pendergrast Machine and attributes it to the exposure of corruption by Governor Lloyd Stark who was put in the position with Pendergrast’s assistance. Stark turned his back on Pendergrast and began a smear campaign against him by investigating the voter fraud that so many new about but ignored. After the impending investigation, President Roosevelt disenchanted himself from Pendergrast and questioned his use of the WPA to say elections. Pendergrast would serve five years of probation and his machine fell with him. The Democrats have failed since to become as strong as they were during Pendergrast’s era in Missouri with their only positive gain in getting Harry Truman to the presidency and reelection.
Reviewers of the book mention its strength in prose, and an interesting writing style but one that is very vague and uses too many generalizations. Most specifically J. Joseph Huthmacher criticizes Dorsett’s assumption that the Pendergrast Machine was built on immigrants while pointing out that Kansas City only contained 6% at its peak. Another strength and weakness, mentioned by Seymour G. Mandelbaum is the fact that Dorsett narrows his subject down to only the Pendergrast family. This is a strength because he does not fall into the trap of praising or condemning Tom Pendergrast but a weakness because he does not show the broad picture of the machine’s effect on the beliefs about government or politics.
The book is an important addition to the study of the Progressive Era because it is one of the only resources and studies of the dynamics of the Pendergrast Machine. Dorsett outlines an overlooked part of it as an entity that was good for Kansas City and its people. He writes that the machines successes were allowed because the people of the city were benefitting from its rule. It is well written as a chronological narrative of the machine and its history. Dorsett writes in an easy to read and understand while providing insight into the life of Jim and Tom Pendergrast. The book is well documented using hundreds of primary sources including the papers, letters, and newspaper articles. The book gives insight into the machine as a positive entity over a negative one only bringing this point up at the end when he discusses its fall.
July 8, 2010
Yet another nice analysis of a political machine. In this case, we observe the Pendergast machine of Kansas City. The book describes well how the Pendergasts rose and became major figures in Kansas City politics. At their peak of power, they had influence at thye state and national level. Indeed, as a way of maintaining surface respectability, the machine supported Harry Truman! The riser and decline of the machine is told well.
January 29, 2017
This is an interesting look at the Pendergast machine of Kansas City. It's a bit dry, as I believe it began as a doctoral thesis, but it does carefully outline the various political maneuvers of Jim and Tom Pendergast through four decades until the machine collapsed with Tom's indictment for tax evasion in 1939.
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