Jim presented himself as an advocate for the common working man, which enhanced his political base. He helped people find jobs and provided coal and food to the needy. In 1894 Jim’s brother Tom, the youngest of the Pendergast siblings, joined the family business in Kansas City. Jim moved Tom quickly into grassroots politics, teaching him how to get out the vote and how to steal elections.
Pendergast, James F.
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Portrait photograph of the 1899 Kansas City, Missouri councilmen's baseball team. Pictured on top from left to right: Lewis B. Sawyer, 7th Ward, center field; Jesse L. Jewell, 3rd Ward, second base; O. Hansford Swearingen, 5th Ward, catcher; Claus Swanson, 4th Ward, right field; and John Moran, 2nd Ward, third base.
Letter from U. A. McBride to Sam Hargus, indicating that Tom Pendergast was recommending him for a government position.
Letter from Jackson C. Stanton to Governor Lloyd Stark, discussing Tom's ascension to head the Pendergast family and lauding Stark for his work against the Pendergast machine.
Letter from Tom Boydston to Guy B. Park about an article in a Massachusetts newspaper about Pendergast's control over Kansas City.
Citizens' League Bulletin issue with the main article entitled "King of Kansas City, Emperor of Missouri" about the corrupt activities of Boss Tom Pendergast of Kansas City.
Joseph “Joe” Shannon presided over Kansas City’s Northside Democratic Party from the early 20th century to 1930, after which he relocated to Washington, D.C., for a 14-year tenure as a U.S. Congressman. Shannon’s political career was marked by his Jeffersonian Democratic views and his tenuous relationships with brothers James and Tom Pendergast.