Whistle Stops: Truman and Pendergast with John Herron

Travel back in time to the “wide open” town of Kansas City, where Prohibition was rarely enforced, the mob was ascendant and urban vice was rampant. At the center of it all was political boss Tom Pendergast. Many saw Tom as a “Robin Hood” figure who secured jobs, food and clothes for the poor, but his generosity always came at a price. What, then, is Pendergast’s price when he offers Harry Truman the position of Presiding County Judge in 1926? And what tradeoffs will the principled future president be willing to make during the early days of his political career? John Herron was named Director of the Kansas City Public Library in 2020, following a dynamic, 17-year tenure at the University of Missouri-Kansas City that saw him arrive as an assistant history professor and rise to associate vice-provost for innovation and interim dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A native of western Montana, Herron earned a Ph.D. in American history from the University of New Mexico and taught at Tufts University i