Glorification Of Organized Crime

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illegal, through the Volstead act of 1919, leading to the first and only time an Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was repealed.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’.

According to historian Dave Roos “Prohibition that mob kingpins like Capone were pulling in as much as $100 million a year in the mid-1920s ($1.4 billion in 2018) and spending a half million dollars a month in bribes to police, politicians and federal investigators.” This result furthermore demonstrates that his enterprise of businesses were created in such a way that the laws in place seemed useless in any attempt to fix the problem. This is important because without these businesses, Al Capone wouldn't be able to amount to what he did and which would eventually alter the course of

Crime is a timeless component of society. For as long as humans have existed among each other, crime has coincided. Throughout time, crime has taken many different forms, some much more subtle than others. Alphonse Capone, a first generation American-Italian born in Brooklyn, would dramatically redefine the nature of criminality. Al Capone was a notorious Chicago mob boss who played a crucial role in the Chicago Outfit as well as the bootlegging industry. Throughout his rise to power in the Chicago, Capone took part in many nefarious dealings that culminated in the creation of a undisputed “King of Crime” until his death in 1947. However, Capone is a timeless figure, his impact on Chicago and influence he’s had on the world of crime, continues to live on.

“It provided members of small-time street gangs with the greatest opportunity ever — feeding the need of Americans coast to coast to drink beer, wine and hard liquor on the sly” (“Prohibition Profits Transformed the Mob Scroll to Read More”). Along with organized crime came exponentially increased cases of violence, from clashes with rival gangs to people wanting revenge. This was a harsh contrast to the intended goal of prohibition. Along with prohibition and mob crime issues, America was also dealing with immigration problems. During the 20s, there was an increase in anti-immigration feelings and pro-patriotic views in America.

Bootlegging, the distribution and dealing of an illegal substance, was becoming increasingly popular with liquor outlawed. Bootleggers would go to great extents to bring in liquor to their customers, prymarily speakeasy owners, as well as making sure they did not lose their customers to the other vaious gangs in the area. To ensure this threats were made to owners, gang wars began, and many murders occurred. (“Prohibition”) Those who became successful bootleggers became emmensly rich and powerful resulting in the expansion and flourishing of organized crime. Most organized crime leaders, gangsters, were wealthy and lived, at least on the outside, a sophisticated and exuberant life. In fact durning the Prohibition Era many people idolized bootlegging and gangs because it was a fast way to get rich and powerful.This would lead to an increase in the population of gangs. These gangs could be extremely dangerous and would kill many, ultimately causing an increase in homicide rates by 13% ("Organized Crime and Prohibition”). The reasoning behind the homicide rates going up is simple; as different mobs became more powerful in their areas and their range of illegal activities expanded they got more attention and this attention caused for rivalrys between different mobs and a higher police involvement in attempting to end the

    Prohibition caused gangs and organized crime to thrive in the 1920’s. Big gangsters made fortunes off of bootlegging, or the illegal make and distribution of alcohol, and speakeasies, illegal clubs or bars that sold alcohol. Al Capone of Chicago was one of the most well known gangsters of the time. He made up to $60 million dollars annually bootlegging and running speakeasies

How Prohibition Changed America In 1929, Chicago, seven members of the North Side Gang were massacred in a garage by Al Capone and his gang in order to eliminate competition for the Chicago Outfit and their illegal trading of liquor during the era of prohibition. This event is a prime example of how the 1920’s were a twisted, yet fashionable and important time in American culture. It was the era when America first became a true superpower, cities began to prosper, and women finally were given the right to vote. Along with help from the 18th amendment to the constitution, this was sure to be a decade for the history books.

The 1920s was a “time of great criminal activity, with prohibition laws in America and the world in an economic depression” (Nash, 1). Organized criminals such as American mobsters thrived during this time. Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde, and John Dillinger were the most well-known of the gangsters at the time, many of the common people looked to these criminals as “heroes”. There were a tremendous amount of people who turned to criminal activity; mostly because jobs were scarce and

The Prohibition goes by several names; The Volstead Act, the Eighteenth Amendment, and Nobel Experiment. However, those names mean nothing if one does not know what the Prohibition is. The Prohibition officially put into place on January 16th 1920 one year and one day after it was ratified. According to Annenberg Classroom for the National Constitution Center, implementing this Amendment deemed “the

There have been many influential events and time periods in history which have directly affected America today such as prohibition and “bootlegging.” The era of prohibition began on January 29th, 1920(Rebman9). Prohibition influenced many things such as the ratification of the 18th and 21st amendment. However, prohibition led to a huge increase in crime rates as well as taking a huge role in the development of NASCAR. Although, many notorious criminals came out of prohibition, by far the most famous would be Alphonse Gabriel Capone, also known as Al Capone.

In the 1920s and 1930s America saw a large growth in mafias & mobs, drug & Alcohol Trafficking, and the organization of crime were a result of the Prohibition.

During this period the rise of urban gang rule and mobsters was unprecedented, mainly emerging from minority immigrant groups (Jewish/Italian/Irish). Initially the gangsters of the period were seen as high achievers as they were associated with the proletariat and seemed to be capable of rising above there roots, even during hard times in America, and achieve wealth. When considering the socio-economic factors it is easy to understand why such men were considered as "gangster-heroes"[3] who represented the people, however the only way that gangsters could achieve this wealth, subsequently fulfilling the American Dream, was by stealing it. " Accruing capital meant accruing power over others"[4].

Out of the turmoil and the collapse of law and order in the 1920’s, perhaps the most recognized figure to emerge from the time is Al Capone. “The New York Times said of Al Capone that he was "the symbol of a shameful era, the monstrous symptom of a disease which was eating into the conscience of America. Looking back on it now, this period of Prohibition in full, ugly flower seems fantastically incredible. Capone himself was incredible, the creation of an ugly dream".” (www.umich.edu) He impacted society through his ruthless tactics, secret alliances, and penetrant for violence typified by the St. Valentine’s Day massacre. Capone controlled many businesses in Chicago such as speakeasies, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, etc. at an approximated income of $100,000,000 a year. For several years, Al Capone was never convicted for the crimes he committed, and when he did, he had an alibi or there was never sufficient evidence against him. Al Capone had more power in society than most of the political leaders did during that time period.

The Great Depression was seen as a time of great poverty across the nation that forced many Americans into unemployment and poor health. The unemployment aspect of the depression was a key aspect to the rise of the crime, since there were very few government police protecting and enforcing the law, as a result, many Americans resorted to crime as a means of bettering themselves and their economic situation.(ushistory.org) Theft and alcohol-related crime began to increase with the recession. Unemployment and poverty are believed by many to be two of the main factors behind crime during the Great Depression. Factors such as prohibition, organized crime and gangsterism also influenced the increased crime rate.

Prohibition created more crime because it was leading to corruption and the “cure” was worse than the original problem (Sifakis 725). The number of crimes increased during the Prohibition which caused organized crime to be very “popular”. Many criminal groups had a regular income of money through illegal actions such as drinking and selling alcohol (Organized Crime and Prohibition 1). Alcohol increased the organized crimes during Prohibition through loopholes in the 18th Amendment, speakeasies, doctor’s prescriptions, and bootlegging.