J. V. Conran and Rural Political Power: Boss Mythology in the Missouri Bootheel

James Vincent Conran (1899-1970) was the most significant political organizer in the history of rural America. Conran served as a rural Missouri prosecutor for 32 years, but he was also the much sought political friend of statewide and national candidates such as President Harry S. Truman, U.S. Senator Thomas F. Eagleton, and Governor Warren Hearnes. Contemporary media depictions tended to portray Conran as a traditional, corrupt political boss, like Conran's notorious contemporaries, Tom Pendergast of Kansas City or Ed Crump of Memphis. In J.V. Conran and Rural Political Power Will Sarvis paints a more accurate image of Conran by describing both the extent and limitations of his power and influence.



About the Author
Will Sarvis is instructor of history at Lane Community College in Eugene, Oregon.