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How Did George Appo's Use Of Social And Structural Forces That Lead To Crime

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In the late nineteenth century in America, crime became a big problem in urban societies. These crimes consisted of prostitution, assault, pickpocketing, murder, counterfeiting, grafting and much more. Timothy Gilfoyle claimed that crime in industrial cities was directly connected with those who have a lower social status and could not maintain a secure and stable life. After reading many primary and secondary sources from Gilfoyles book The Urban Underworld in Late Nineteenth-Century New York: The Autobiography of George Appo, I have come to agree with his statement. Although crime was and will never be acceptable, it was justifiable during this time. There were a lot of social and structural forces that lead to crime. During this time period, it was very hard to make money to support yourself or a family. Because of the lack of money it almost always led to crime. Crime and the lack of money influenced by yours or your family status, which made it almost impossible to climb the social ladder. There were also many structural forces such as a corrupt government and police force. Because of these things most people had to turn to the life of crime to stay alive and get the necessities they needed. George Appo was among many of these people who turned to crime to try to survive. He was …show more content…

Every time he was caught or questioned, he always told the truth. Because of this he was given the title “good fellow.” George said “I was a ‘good fellow’ which was a very bad thing to be” in the criminal world (106). Because he would confess and tell the truth about his crimes he lost a lot of trust and connections to help him when needed. Appo said he “tried to get some work to do and after about six weeks’ search, gave it up…” (94). George committed these crimes because it was necessary. Appo was a criminal who lived a negative life full of crime, but found that stealing was the only way to stay

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