Wide-Open Town

de Diane Mutti Burke, Jason Roe, John Herron

"Kansas City is often seen as a mild-mannered metropolis in the heart of flyover country. But a closer look tells a different story, one with roots in the city-- complicated and colorful past. The decades between World Wars I and II were a time of intense political, social, and economic change--for Kansas City, as for the nation as a whole. In exploring this city at the literal and cultural crossroads of America, Wide-Open Town maps the myriad ways in which Kansas City reflected and helped shape the narrative of a nation undergoing an epochal transformation. During the interwar period, political boss Tom Pendergast reigned, and Kansas City was said to be "wide open." Prohibition was rarely enforced, the mob was ascendant, and urban vice was rampant. But in a community divided by the hard lines of race and class, this "openness" also allowed many of the city's residents to challenge conventional social boundaries--and it is this intersection and disruption of cultural norms that interests the authors of Wide-Open Town. Writing from a variety of disciplines and viewpoints, the contributors take up topics ranging from the 1928 Republican National Convention to organizing the garment industry, from the stockyards to health care, drag shows, Thomas Hart Benton, and, of course, jazz. Their essays bring to light the diverse histories of the city--among, for instance, Mexican immigrants, African Americans, the working class, and the LGBT community before the advent of "LGBT." Wide-Open Town captures the defining moments of a society rocked by World War I, the mass migration of people of color into cities, the entrance of women into the labor force and politics, Prohibition, economic collapse, and a revolution in social mores. Revealing how these changes influenced Kansas City--and how the city responded--this volume helps us understand nothing less than how citizens of the age adapted to the rise of modern America."-- "Wide-Open Town explores the rich history of Kansas City in the interwar period, which has been characterized as an exciting period of growth, development, and cultural fluorescence--the city's Golden Age--even in the midst of rampant public corruption, economic depression, and strained social relations. The contributors to this wide-ranging collection seek to answer the question of whether this really was Kansas City's Golden Age: did this era elevate, refine, or ruin Kansas City's national profile? The contributors come from a variety of departments and institutions, and chapters focus on such topics as the 1928 Republican National Convention, the KC Monarchs, Mexican immigrants, drag shows, health care, the stockyards, and Thomas Hart Benton--and, of course, jazz"--