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Analysis Of Gangland Chicago In The 1920's

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Chicago has been one of the most dangerous cities in the world for many years. One of the times that stand out is the Prohibition Era in the 1920s. This Era is key to the history of this great city in many ways. It brought some of the most interesting criminal tactics, and one of the most powerful government entities: the FBI. Al Capone was at the forefront of the socio-political scene of that time. It was his ability to commit some very gruesome acts that made him the biggest target and villain. With these instances, I can critique my journey to the Chicago History Museum. The particular exhibit I experienced was called Gangland Chicago. It shows how the Prohibition changed criminality in Chicago, and around the country. Chicago is the main …show more content…

This supports a couple of other claims in the exhibit about the gang problem being more than just a Chicago problem. I mean, they were bootlegging, so they would need to impede in areas where transport took place. If there was a dispute or a misunderstanding, and someone was killed, that could easily create a nasty situation for a small town or village. This is key to getting the larger scope of how massive the problem was. “During the 1920's, death by alcohol was very common. If the alcohol itself did not cause a person’s death, it was not unlikely that a person died either fighting over possession of alcohol or during an illegal sell gone wrong,” . The map seems to be why the exhibit is titled …show more content…

It mainly focuses on Al Capone and his illegal misdeeds. Then it adds some outlying support from the various newspaper headlines and random pictures. All put together, I just don’t agree with the end sentiment of the exhibit. It comes off as cautionary history instead of showing the truth. I feel that if I had done this exhibit, I would have looked at a couple of the gang leaders, not just one. I would have shown their childhood status and what led them to the crime. Then I would have shown how the police saw the crime escalate. Then I would have shown how they repealed prohibition because of the crime problem. If it could be seen that way, I think it would show that failed policy happens and that we have a lot to learn from in the present

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Incidentally, large cities were the main location for organized gangs. Although there were over half a dozen powerful gangs in New York, Chicago was the capital of the racketeers, including Johnny Torrio, “Bugs” Moran, the Gennas, and the O’Banions (Addiction History 4). The most powerful and infamous bootlegger, by far, was Al Capone, operating out of Chicago. One of the most gruesome and remembered gangland murders of all time occurred on Valentine’s Day, 1929. Because of business differences, Capone ordered hit man Jack McGurn plot the murder of Bugs Moran and the O’Banion/Weiss gang, which Moran had recently taken control of.

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Police are doubling their efforts in order to put an end to organised crime, and the underground empire these mobsters have created. Al Capone's bootlegging, and other criminal activities are estimated to make him over 100 million dollars a year,“His underground empire has its tentacles in almost every illegal activity possible” said one officer we interviewed. “Al Capone is by far the most powerful man in chicago” says one citizen we interviewed another said “if Al wants you to disappear your gonna disappear”. With the prohibition act of 1919 mobsters have making

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Al Capone Mobsters was a term that describes a group of gangsters in the 1920’s. Gambling, Prostitution, and Murder went hand in hand with the term of mobster. Every mafia group has a leader. Al Capone was a dangerous mobster who was a Mafia crime lord and had took part in illegal alcohol, illegal drugs, prostitution, and illegal gambling during the 1920s (History).

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Mobsters in the 1920’s In the Progressive Era, Back when Prohibition was an active law Mobsters such as, Al Capone, Machine Gun Kelly, and Pretty Boy Floyd in the 1920’s had the economy wrapped around their finger. Prohibition became a law that banned businesses from making, and manufacturing ,the transportation, importation and sale of alcoholic beverages lasting from 1920 to 1933. From urbanization to the social and economic problems that were introduced to the U.S. had the country in shambles . Therefore it refers to Progressivism which started out as a social movement and became a political movement.

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Additionally, other factors such as: acts of organised crime – gambling and prostitution, weakened Chicagoan governmental system and period of Prohibition all played tribute to the law dismantling of Chicagoan state. Chicago , a city seen for its perfection yet due to the ‘large-scale’ (Source A) of organised criminal activity which made way to path of gangster tactics and the victimisation by Alphonse Capone King Of The Gangsters (Source N) , the perfect Chicagoan city no longer stood instead a lawless state emerged. Al Capone had a strong hold upon the Chicago state (Source N) which made his actions have a greater influence. Capone had created a lawless path throughout Chicago in multiple ways through his involvement in organised crimes i.e. gambling ‘ gambling on horse races’ (Source L) ; ‘income tax fraud’ (Source I) ;

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Chicago’s Political Corruption Today, Chicago is recognized as the second largest city in the country (after New York) or as “The Windy City”. These titles were actually established in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Chicago was continuously changing and had undergone various experiments during the time. The city acted as a laboratory for social and political investigations which enabled the city to collect statistics that supported the speculation of political corruption.

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Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre The Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre was the murder of seven men of the North Side Gang during the Prohibition Era. In 1920s, there was a constitutional ban of production, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages in the United States. During this era, gangsters ruled many cities by owning brothels, breweries, and selling alcohol illegally. The massacre happened due to conflict between the two powerful gangs.

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Al Capone was responsible for the state of lawlessness in Chicago between 1920 and1931 which endangered and damaged his reputation and public image. However, he is justified in his actions because he wanted to be the best gangster in the state of Chicago. He made many enemies whilst being in his small-time and full time gangs, including Bugs Moran, who was the leader of the North Side Gang- which was the main rival gang of the Five Point Gang of which Capone was the seven year leader. Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone was born on January 17 1899 in Brooklyn, New York.

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During the 1920’s gang related crime was a serious issue. The leader of all this violence and corruption was a man named Al “Scarface” Capone (“Al Capone”). This organized crime, dehumanization, and corruption, became the ultimate image of Chicago for people throughout the world. He was largely immersed in things like gambling, prostitution, and the illegal sale of liquor. He was not convicted for any of his crimes, even the St. Valentine's Day massacre of 1929, until he was imprisoned for tax evasion (Horan).

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Civil disobedience is inevitable, when the government violates the autonomy and ignores the societal welfare of the people. Similarly, in the 1920s, the enactment of Prohibition restricted the personal liberties of the american population and worsened economy to a certain degree. The failure of Prohibition to improve good family morals and the quality of life caused growing disdain for its implementation. At the time, organized crime became the embodiment of protest against the government, because of the money that mafias made selling illegal alcohol, which opposed Prohibition. As a result, the public viewed these organizations as heroes, due mostly in part to their actions against the government and the benefits foreseen from joining.

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The First World War had ended in the 1920’s, but a new war was beginning on the American streets. This was known as the gang war. People were committing organized crime and there were people who were known as professional criminals. Organized crime was becoming a very big thing in Cleveland. In the 1920’s, prohibition was also going on .

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Prohibition’s Failure In the 1920s, Al Capone was a name that inspired fear into the hearts of all of Chicago. His reign as crime boss over Chicago came because of a single government act. This act was the Eighteen Amendment of the Constitution of the United States of America, commonly known as Prohibition. The common goal for the law was that alcohol related crime would go down and the problems of drunks who did not take care of or provide for their families would be eradicated.

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Crimes nearly skyrocketed due to the bootleggers organized crime of transportation and sales to sneak alcohol. Bootleggers began their smuggling of liquor into the United States by crossing the Canadian and Mexican borders and ship transportation from the Bahamas and Cuba. The smuggling became even more riskier and more expensive once the Coast Guards started searching the ships from coast to coast but bootleggers had other sources of supply. Gangs began to take control of the bootlegging industry and go from state to state picking up more people. Al Capone was the leader during the Prohibition era of Chicago.

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This was life for the citizens in Chicago, everyone was kept in constant fear for their lives if they ever crossed Capone. The Federal Government knew they had to control the violent city of Chicago by eliminating the Gaffron 2 criminal that was behind it all, Al Capone. This is when our heroes enter, The Untouchables. In the movie, The Untouchables were a team assembled by Federal Treasury Officer, Eliot Ness, to help combat the massacres by mobsters in Chicago. The Federal Ban of alcohol (prohibition) led to an illegal market for liquor and in turn, more crime.

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