Thomas McDonald Patterson, described by contemporaries as the most prominent figure in Colorado history, achieved a degree of political influence, professional fame, and financial success that makes his relative obscurity a mystery. As the acknowledged leader of the Democratic party from 1876 to 1892, he raised the party's respectability. By engineering a fusion of silver Democrats and populists to challenge Republican dominance, he brought about an effective two-party system.

In Patterson's lengthy career he was instrumental in Colorado's quest for statehood, served as territorial delegate to Congress, was the first Democratic U.S. congressman, and later a U.S. senator.

As owner and publisher of the Rocky Mountain News and the Denver Times, Patterson supported many unpopular causes, among them organized labor. In defending freedom of the press, he survived serious boycotts by large advertisers and a contempt citation by the Colorado Supreme Court. Infuriated by election swindles, Patterson worked with other progressive reformers to curtail corruption in municipal and state government, including the Democratic machine of mayor Robert Speer.