Pendergast, Thomas J

Pendergast, Thomas J

▪ American politician
born July 22, 1872, St. Joseph, Mo., U.S.
died Jan. 26, 1945, Kansas City, Mo.

      U.S. politician who created a powerful political machine in Missouri. Critics of Pres. Harry S. Truman frequently linked his name with Pendergast, a former associate.

      Pendergast went to Kansas City in 1893, where he learned the rudiments of municipal politics from precinct captains and where, by 1916, he had become political boss of Kansas City's Democrats, a position he held for almost 25 uninterrupted years. His political machine dominated state as well as city politics and had strong influence in Democratic national conventions. Political foes labelled him a ruthless leader of a corrupt political machine that had made Kansas City a hotbed of vice and crime.

      Pendergast was toppled not by his political opponents but by the U.S. government, which found him guilty of evading payment of income taxes on $443,550. This sum allegedly included a $315,000 bribe he had received from some fire-insurance companies for favouring their side in a rate-increase dispute. Pendergast was sentenced to federal prison in May 1939 and served a year and a day.

* * *


Universalium. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Pendergast, Thomas J(oseph) — born July 22, 1872, St. Joseph, Mo., U.S. died Jan. 26, 1945, Kansas City, Mo. U.S. politician. He was active in municipal politics in Kansas City, Mo., and became the political boss of the city s Democrats by 1916. His political machine… …   Universalium

  • Pendergast, Thomas J(oseph) — (22 jul. 1872, St. Joseph, Mo., EE.UU.–26 ene. 1945, Kansas City, Mo.). Político estadounidense. Participó en la política municipal en Kansas City, Mo., y en 1916 era el jefe político de los demócratas de esa ciudad. Su aparato político dominó la …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thomas — Thomas, Albert Thomas, André Antoine Thomas, Ch. L. Ambroise Thomas, Dylan Thomas, Sidney Gilchrist Thomas, Theodore * * * (as used in expressions) Adès, Thomas …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Thomas — /tom euhs/ for 1, 2, 4 14; /taw mah / for 3, n. 1. an apostle who demanded proof of Christ s Resurrection. John 20:24 29. 2. Augustus, 1857 1934, U.S. playwright, journalist, and actor. 3. (Charles Louis) Ambroise /shannrddl lwee ahonn brddwannz… …   Universalium

  • Thomas Hart Benton (painter) — Infobox Artist bgcolour = #6495ED name = Thomas Hart Benton imagesize = caption = Thomas Hart Benton birthname = birthdate = birth date |1889|4|15| location = Neosho, Missouri deathdate = death date and age |1975|1|19|1889|4|15| deathplace =… …   Wikipedia

  • Tom Pendergast — Thomas Joseph Pendergast (July 22, 1873 ndash; January 26, 1945) controlled Kansas City and Jackson County, Missouri as a political boss. Boss Tom Pendergast gave workers jobs and helped elect politicians during the Great Depression, becoming… …   Wikipedia

  • Tom Pendergast — Thomas Joseph Pendergast (* 22. Juli 1873 in St. Joseph, Missouri; † 26. Januar 1945 in Kansas City, Missouri) war ein US amerikanischer Unternehmer und Politiker. Pendergast war seit 1911 der wirtschaftliche und zum Teil auch politische… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Clancy Pendergast — Pendergast at Cal spring practice in April 2010 Sport(s) Football Current position Title …   Wikipedia

  • James Pendergast — James Francis Pendergast (1856 November 10, 1911) was a Democratic politician who was to be the first Big City Boss of Kansas City, Missouri. He was the elder brother of Thomas J. Pendergast and Michael J. Pendergast.Pendergast was born in… …   Wikipedia

  • Derrick Thomas — For those of a similar name, see Derek Thomas (disambiguation) and Thomas Derrick (disambiguation). Derrick Thomas Derrick Thomas during the 1999 NFL season. No. 58      Linebacker/Defensive End …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”