Kansas City, Jackson County, Missouri

The settlement began life in 1834 as a dock on the Missouri River to land supplies for Westport, initially called Westport Landing. The land surrounding the dock was bought by the recently formed Town Company in 1838. The area was renamed the Town of Kansas (after the local Kanza Indians) in 1839 and the town was incorporated by the state of Missouri as the City of Kansas on March 28, 1853. At the first municipal election in 1853 there were sixty-seven voters from a population of 2,500. In 1889, with a population of around 60,000, the city adopted a new charter and changed its name to Kansas City.

During the American Civil War there were many skirmishes between pro- and anti-slavery groups and the Battle of Westport October 21-23, 1864, where the Union army routed the Confederates.

The City was connected to the telegraph system in 1858, to the railway in 1864 (with a bridge crossing the river in 1869) and the first aircraft landed at the Municipal Airport in 1927.

Due to its central location, Kansas City became and remains the third largest railroad hub in the United States, behind St. Louis and Chicago, Illinois, which are the second and first largest, respectively.

The city's industry was cattle, from the 1860s it had one of the largest cattle markets in America. The industry peaked in the early 20th century. The city has a Federal Reserve Bank, as does St. Louis.

By 1915 the city had grown to 250,000 people but from then until 1940 the city was effectively run by one man, "Boss" Tom Pendergast, and "Crime and vice... became rampant". On the other hand, the city also became a center for night life where innovative jazz and blues flourished.

Harry S. Truman, former U.S. president, was county judge of Jackson County, Missouri, under the Pendergast regime, and was initially regarded in his early career as a corrupt politician because of this. However, most people came to regard him as having a great deal of integrity because of his subsequent actions in various political offices.

Since the Pendergast era, the city has continued to grow, although mainly by annexation rather than natural growth; it retains some heavy industry and a significant airport.