The Bothwell Hotel was the site of a decisive turn in Harry S. Truman’s political fortunes. In early May 1934, a meeting in a corner of its lobby brought Truman an unexpected offer to run for the United States Senate after another candidate had already been chosen and Truman had spent weeks waiting in vain for a further opportunity.

Setting and Documented Use

The meeting followed a stop on Truman’s speaking tour in Warsaw, Missouri. While he was there, Jim Pendergast called and asked him to come as soon as possible to the Bothwell Hotel in Sedalia because an important matter awaited him. The drive took about half an hour. At the hotel, Truman, Jim Pendergast, and Jim Aylward drew chairs together in a corner of the lobby. The account identifies this gathering as the setting for their conversation, but supplies no further description of the hotel or its rooms.

The Senate Offer

Truman arrived without knowing what the meeting concerned. He was told that a gathering had taken place and that Thomas J. Pendergast wanted him to run for the Senate. The proposal left him incredulous and nearly speechless. Aylward assured him that the Boss was overwhelmingly in his favor; Truman responded by asking what was wrong with the remaining five percent. Aylward clarified that Thomas J. Pendergast supported him.

Truman said he needed time to think, but Jim Pendergast and Aylward argued that he should accept for the good of the party. He agreed to run, while making clear that he had no money to begin a campaign. Within a day or so, Aylward and Jim Pendergast each gave him $500 to get started. The hotel meeting thus joined the decision to nominate him with the immediate practical problem of financing his entry into the race.

A Sudden Change in Fortune

The offer was surprising in light of Truman’s recent political prospects. Thomas J. Pendergast had selected circuit court judge Jasper Bell for the position Truman had hoped to obtain, and Bell would go on to win both the primary and the November election. Truman had felt maneuvered out and, after weeks without another offer, his spirits had sunk further.

He was also not Thomas J. Pendergast’s first choice for the Senate. Jim Reed had declined, as had Joe Shannon; Aylward, the most serious alternative, did not want to leave his law practice or spend less time with his family. Jim Pendergast then suggested Truman, whose name had not previously appeared on anyone’s list. Aylward supported the idea, and the two persisted until Thomas J. Pendergast agreed. In the narrative, the Bothwell Hotel is therefore more than a meeting place: it is where an unanticipated candidacy took shape, reversing Truman’s apparent exclusion from the political opportunity he sought.