Al Capone's Influence On American History

When we think of the mafia and gangs, one name comes to mind, Al Capone. Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was an infamous mafia leader who was active in Chicago during the Prohibition era. Having committed numerous criminal deeds and being the man behind countless murders, Capone was finally arrested for tax evasion . Now, you might ask, “How was he able to commit all these violent deeds without being imprisoned?” Well, we first have to go to the beginning of Capone’s life.

During the period of prohibition, from 1920 to 1933, the sale, manufacture and transportation of alcohol was made illegal, through the Volstead act of 1919, leading to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed. Throughout this time in American history gangsters were common and were constantly increasing in every city but one in particular stood out from all the others making a significant impact on American history. Scarface, Alphonse Capone or more commonly known as Al Capone; who was the most infamous gangster, taking advantage of the era of Prohibition, ran an organized crime association in Chicago during the 1920s. He was responsible for over 500 murders; he had 700 men under his control and earned $60 million a year for bootlegging. Capone, who was glamorised in media and shown as charitable to the helpless was also controlling and violent and became an iconic figure of the successful American gangster who insisted he was just ‘supplying the public demand’.

Al Capone, who was born in New York in 1899, was one of the most prominent gangsters in America in the 1920s. He was the son of Italian immigrants, and after leaving school at a young age, became a small-time criminal. Known as ‘Scarface,’ he had links to the leader of the Five Points Gang, Johnny Torrio, and moved to Chicago in 1920, where he gradually rose through the ranks as a partner in saloons, gambling and brothels. They moved their operations to Illinois after an offer to work with Jim Colosimo, a central figure in Chicago’s brothel business. Gang rivalry heated up after a dispute between Torrio and Colosimo over whether to begin in the bootlegging business, and in 1920, Colosimo was murdered allegedly by Al Capone. After this, Torrio’s criminal empire expanded massively throughout Chicago, before leaving in 1925 and handing over operations to Capone. After taking over, Capone expanded operations even further, and was able to control Chicago’s Mayor, ‘Big Bill’ Thompson and fix his elections. A local newspaper from the time reported

Was Al Capone the man who killed the seven men in Chicago on Valentine’s Day February 14, 1929.

Al Capone was born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York. He grew up with poor immigrant parents and had 7 brothers and sisters. His Father’s name was Gabriele Capone,and his Mother’s name was Teresina Capone. Al was a good student in school until he reached the sixth grade and got into a altercation with his teacher and punched her. After the incident he never went back to school and instead looked to street gangs. Two gangs he joined were the Brooklyn Rippers, and the Forty Thelves. His family then decided it was best for them to move to a safer area and moved to the outskirts of Brooklyn. Al met his wife at this time and two men named Johnny Torrio and Frankie Yale. Torrio was one of the biggest partners Al had ever worked with and also the godfather of his son Albert Francis and Frankie gave Al a job as a bartender and bouncer at the Howard Inn. Meeting these two men was the Start of something new ("Al Capone").

Capone quickly went into hiding, fearing he would be tried for McSwiggin's murder. He remained out of sight for nearly three months, and then after realizing he couldn't live the remainder of his life underground, he negotiated his surrender to the Chicago Police. The authorities eventually recognized that they lacked sufficient evidence to bring Capone to trial, and though very unpopular with public opinion, he was set free. The public was outraged and law officials were left embarrassed. "Big Al" had become one of the most powerful crime czars in Chicago. It was said that Capone was now big as life, and more powerful than the mayor himself.

Alphonse was destined to a life of lawlessness from a young age. In his adolescence, he lived the life of an Italian Immigrant. Sequestered to predominantly Italian boroughs, education was lackluster and the influence of the Italian mob was ever present. However, Capone's education played a key role in his development. As Kobel states in his novel, it was here at school where Capone met another future mob boss. Another Italian delinquent youth at the time, Salvatore Lucania, also known as Lucky Luciano. (Kobler 23) Capone continued to live a moderately normal life until his expulsion from school at age fourteen. He worked side jobs around Brooklyn

Al Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in his way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his self to being unstoppable. Al Capone, being raised as a kid in poverty learned hands on how to organize crime and became the biggest force in organized crime.

Gabriele and Teresina Capone, along with their three sons, were two of the 43,000 Italians who arrived in the U.S. in 1894. After five years in the United States, a forth son joined the family as Teresina gave birth to the family's Alphonse Capone. Since their arrival, nothing "about the Capone family was inherently disturbed, violent, or dishonest... They were a law-abiding, unremarkable Italian-American family with conventional patterns of behavior and frustrations; they displayed no special genius for crime, or anything else, for that matter," (Bardsley 2000).

Despised by many, admired by few, but known by all, history had never seen an outlaw quite like Al Capone. Capone rose to his notorious fame during Chicago’s 1920’s Prohibition era through organized crime and extreme celebrity status. Though his legacy today remains one of violence and murder, Capone’s heyday was full of glamour and good deeds. Due to his staunch pursuit of the American Dream, charitable nature, and effective business tactics, Al Capone’s legacy should not only be a violent gangster but additionally as an ambitious businessman on his own unique path to success.

Al Capone is one of the most recognized names in American history. Capone ran the City of Chicago with illegal activities. He appeared many times on newspapers all over the country. Every one of us has heard of Al Capone, but most of us don’t k

Conceived in 1899 in New York, to poor settler guardians, Al Capone went ahead to end up noticeably the most notorious criminal in American history. In 1920 amid the prohibition heights, Capone's multi-million dollar Chicago undertakings in prostitution, betting and bootlegging ruled the sorted out wrongdoing scene. Capone was in charge of numerous ruthless demonstrations of viciousness, mostly against different criminals. St. Valentine's Day Massacre in 1929 was the most famous killings, in which he requested the death of seven adversaries. Capone was never prosecuted for his racketeering yet was, at last, conveyed to equity for money tax avoidance in 1931. After serving six-and-a-half years, Capone was discharged (Kobler, 2003). However, his death occurred in Miami in 1947. Capone's life caught the general population creative ability, and his hoodlum persona has been deified in the numerous books and movies propelled by his exploits. Additionally, this paper tries to give an outline of Al Capone life, violations, and passing.

Al Capone grew up in Brooklyn, New York; his parents came from Italy, so he had some Italian background in him. He was the fourth child out of nine; he went to school until he was fourteen years old, but he eventually dropped out to help earn money for his family. Right after he dropped out, he joined a street gang called the South Brooklyn Rippers. When he grew older, he joined a new gang called the Five

One of the most notorious gangsters/bootlegger in American history was Al Capone. Iorizzo explains how Al Capone got his infamous name “Scarface.” The incident occurred one night when he insulted a patron’s sister at the bar he worked at. A customer unhappy with Al Capone’s remark used a bottle opener to leave Al Capone with three scars on his face. As Al Capone grew older, he was accused of many crimes including murder. No evidence was ever found or any witnesses that could ever tie them to accuse Al Capone of murder. One case was the death of Bill McSwiggin however, Al Capone stated that he nothing to do with the crime. Another piece of history from Al Capone was The St. Valentine’s Day massacre in which Al Capone ordered multiple hits on gang members, providing a serious threat to civilian safety in Chicago.

Gabriele Capone was a barber that lived in Naples, Italy who decided to escape a bleak rural life in the promise of work and