Al Capone History Essay

746 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: St valentines day massacre assignment

During World War I, the U.S. set rations on sugar and grain leading to a prohibition on alcohol. Gangsters began ordering shipments of illegal alcohol and selling them for large sums of money. When the prohibition continued after the war, large gangs and crime began to arise in major cities (Trespacz 33-37). The city of Chicago was split into different fighting gangs led by mob bosses. The south territory was led by Al Capone, and his rival Bugs Moran ran northern Chicago. Capone always planned to run all of Chicago's gang territory at any cost (Kaczmarek 1). The gruesome event of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre showed how ruthless and cunning Capone was to achieve his goal.
Exploiting the time period's high alcohol demand, Capone had the perfect foundation to hurt his enemy. Moran's headquarters were set in the garage of the SMC Cartage Company on 2122 N. Clark Street. An intelligent leader maintaining his protection, Al Capone sent gangsters to watch from houses and buildings across the street. These gangsters would inform Capone about the garage, allowing Capone to plan his attack on Moran. When he felt he had sufficient information, Capone created a plan that involved duping Bugs Moran into making a deal for bootleg liquors with a dealer from Detroit. The deal was really fake; however, Moran did not know and hoped the deal would hurt his competition. The shipment was expected to be delivered on February 14, 1929, at 10:30 in the morning (Kaczmarek 1). Moran easily accepted the offer for the bootleg liquor shipment because he had done business with the dealer before without any problems (Trespacz 8-9). Capone had set the trap, and Moran mistakenly fell for it. Al Capone was ready to continue...

... middle of paper ...

...t meant murdering seven men with a dubious scheme, to thwart his rival and take over as the head mob boss in Chicago. Although Capone could not be blamed, two of his men were sentenced to a trial, but were murdered before the they could testify. Capone was eventually charged with neglecting federal income tax and died after ten years in prison (Cavendish 2). His death meant that city crime would dwindle and the authorities could enforce laws again limiting violence. Today, cities and states try to avoid such sadistic misconduct by establishing new laws to prevent more violence. For example, gun owners must register all purchased weapons so that investigators can trace them if the weapon is used in a crime. The St. Valentine's Day Massacre was a dark event in America; it set a precedent for the chaos that arises when crime is not stifled and gangsters rise to power.

Show More
Related

  • The Sources of Al Capone's Power

    733 Words  | 2 Pages

    Al Capone’s family came with a wave of other Italian immigrants that migrated to the United States in the 1800’s. Most immigrants in that time were living in poverty and in very urban areas. Capone’s family lived in the heart of Brooklyn, but his father was a successful barber which allowed them a slightly better lifestyle than most. Al Capone was the fourth of nine children and grew up with a very tight-knit Italian family who were trying to succeed in their new country”. Capone attended public school in the city and had a natural brightness by keeping a “B average” despite playing hooky on many occasions. The sixth grade showcased Capone’s short temper when he hit a female teacher who was lecturing him. This incident reveals the beginning of who Al Capone would come to be. After being suspended for his violence, he never officially furthered his education. He began his life of crime by joining the kid gangs that existed all over Brooklyn. These “gangs” were nothing more than children being hoodlums and participating in petty crimes, although they would be the ...

    Read More

  • Al Capone Thesis Statement

    1357 Words  | 3 Pages

    Capone worked hard at boreing jobs he cut paper and other odd jobs. One of his jobshe

    Read More

  • Alphonse Gabriel Capone And The Bootlegger In American History

    760 Words  | 2 Pages

    As more and more immigrants began to spread throughout the US, more and more gangs of people began to emerge. Gangs were usually made up of people of a common ethnicity, whether it be Irish, Italian, or Hispanic. These gangs were usually victims of anti-immigrant policies and looked for strength in numbers. As gangs became more and more sophisticated they realized they could make profits from the power they were accumulating. One of the most recognizable examples is the bootlegging of alcohol during the Prohibition. When federal officials attempted to enforce legislation such as the Volstead Act, there was a surge of illegal sales and profits. In 1927, Al Capone and his gang racked up over $60 million from bootlegged alcohol. With all of this money came tons of violence, people were getting murdered in broad daylight just so others could have a sum of all of this wealth. Soon Mob families would own clubs or casinos to increase their wealth. The attendees weren’t only made up of rich mob bosses, the alcohol, dancing, and gambling attracted many ordinary

    Read More

  • Al Capone and the Evolution of Organized Crime

    1506 Words  | 4 Pages

    The laws have changed so much since Al Capone died, if Al Capone were alive today in the same business, he would not be caught even for tax evasion, too many loopholes in the law to protect the people with the money. He would be able to have lawyers to protect him and take the law and make everything that he was doing in the 1920’s legal and not spend any time in prison.

    Read More

  • Al Capone Biography

    1058 Words  | 3 Pages

    and make a fresh start. At the time, Torrio was working for his uncle, the current leader of the Chicago underground, Big Jim Colosimo. With the prohibition came possibilities for large alcohol based profits. Torrio knew that Big Jim could make extremely large amounts of money, but Colosimo could not be persuaded to try his hand. So, in 1920, Torrio had Capone plan and carry out the murder of Big Jim, making Torrio the new boss of Chicago, with Capone as his right hand man, and manager of bootlegging alcohol (Internet 3, 1).

    Read More

  • Politics of Prohibition: Helpful Or Harmful To American Society?

    1407 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...s. Was Capone fully to blame for the violence that plagued his life? Or was he adapting to the times in which he lived? Maybe he was a man who believed in self-defense in a cruel time where he was just as likely to be killed by an opposing bootlegger. In several interviews, he spoke of peace. He asked for peace from other men that challenged him. Some might even call him generous. Whatever Al Capone was, there was one type of person that he believed to be truely evil. In the words of Capone, "There's one thing worse than a crook, I think...and that's a crooked man in a big political job. A man who pretends he is enforcing the law and is really making dough by breaking it. Even a self-respecting hoodlum hasn't any use for that kind of fella..he buys them like he'd buy any other article necessary to his trade. But he hates them in his heart," (Blumenthal 102).

    Read More

  • The 18th Amendment

    334 Words  | 1 Pages

    It is said that for every market that is destroyed, a new underground market is created. This was exactly the case with prohibition. Though domestic violence did decrease, much crime increased. Bootlegers (people who made/sold their own whiskey) popped up everywhere. Speakeasies, which were underground bars, were frequented by virtually everyone. Seceret drinking was considered a glamorous thing-even in Washington parties. Bootlegging gangs began to increase, thus an increase in street crime occured. One of the most famous of these gangsters was Al Capone. Capone's bootlegging ring earned him approximately 60,000,000 dollars a year. One example of gang related crime was the St. Valentines Day Massacre, in which Capones's gang gunned down and killed seven members of "Bugs" Morgans' gang.

    Read More

  • Prohibition: Al Capone

    1960 Words  | 4 Pages

    Prohibition was the creation of bootlegging and gang wars that would make up the roots of the 1920’s. One of the most known gangsters in American History, Al Capone, was the most powerful gang or mob leader in his era. Capone was the roots of organized crime in Chicago area from the mid 20’s to the early 30’s. Al grew up in the 20’s in Chicago. In his younger days, he joined the James Street Gang whose leader was Johnny Torrio. In the year 1920, Johnny asked Al Capone to join his uncle in Chicago who had control of the city’s largest prostitute and gambling circuit. Capone ended up being a big fan of that idea. In the later months of 1920 the Prohibition act was passed into effect and Al Capone decided his next money maker was bootlegging illegal

    Read More

  • Al Capone: Chicago's King

    984 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1920, the Congress of the United States ratified the Eighteenth Amendment, which was a ban across the United States on the sale, production, importation, and transportation of all alcoholic beverages. During this time, also known as the Prohibition-era, many citizens smuggled and transported alcohol, a process referred to as bootlegging. The illegal activity brought much stress and challenges for law enforcement agencies of the area; they struggled to continuously keep alcohol off the streets. One man that caused a majority of the stress and stands out for his bootlegging empire is Al Capone. According to many historians and biographers, Al Capone was, perhaps, one of the most notorious and ruthless gangsters of the Prohibition-era based on his involvement in smuggling and bootlegging liquor, as well as his criminal activities.

    Read More

  • al capone

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...who opened the first soup kitchen when there were people in need. Capone ordered many merchants to give clothes and food to the people in need at his expense. This shows how he had equally a violent temper as a loyal heart (Chicago Historical Society). There is always the possibility that he could have done some of these philanthropists acts because he was trying to sway people in his favor, but no one can really know for sure. It is rather important to try and see the positive things Capone has done in his past so there is a good reminder of his life. The things he did to make him be remembered as “Scarface” also shaped him as a human being and an icon. Alphonsus Capone affected Illinois in both a positive and negative way; he will be remembered throughout history as both a positive and a negative public figure in Illinois even if he was not born or raised here.

    Read More

  • The Rise And Fall Of Al Capone

    2064 Words  | 5 Pages

    Once in Chicago, Capone went to work for Yale's old mentor, John Torrio, who also became godfather to his son. Torrio saw Capone's potential, his combination of physical strength and intelligence, and took him under his wing. In January 1920, the 18th Amendment of the Prohibition Act came into force, which made the brewing, distilling and distribution of alcohol completely illegal. The era of Prohibition was underway, and Chicago's criminal underworld, including Johnny Torrio who was prepared to make bootlegging alcohol a very profitable business. Around the end of 1920 Capone's father tragically died, but Capone was doing well in Chicago venture and did not go astray. At just 22 years of age Capone became Torrio's partner in his Chicago businesses, and was Torrio's number-two man helping to mange the bootlegging, saloons, gambling houses, and even the brothels. Capone now had greater responsibilities and was given the opportunity to expand the operation to the Chicago suburb of Cicero.

    Read More

  • Al Capone

    1643 Words  | 4 Pages

    by taking out the their leaders. On one occasion there were Sicilians in the Sicilian Mafia and Al for a dinner in their "honor." After they had finished their lavish meal and drank as much wine as there hearts desired, he killed the unsuspecting visitors. They also tightened there political control over the city. Capone boasted "I own the police." He actually did own the police. This was most prominent during the November elections of 1929 when a lawyer by the name of Frank Lowsch persuaded Capone to have the elections be fair. He asked to have the police arrest any gangsters or hoodlums , and they did. There was not one incident of interventio...

    Read More

  • How Did Al Capone Influence Organized Crime

    1139 Words  | 3 Pages

    During the early 20th century, the Prohibition era flourished as a result of the 18th Amendment being passed in 1919. The illegalization of alcohol created a public outrage, resulting in a revolution of bootlegging as people scoured for alcohol. This rapid monopolization of the prohibition era led to the thriving time period of organized crime. A notorious criminal that many people know of today – Al Capone – dominated this prominent change within society. Capone’s criminal ways and multi-millionaire business influenced the way the public interpreted not only prohibition, but also crime and the justice system in general. Gangster Al Capone played a significant role during the Prohibition era by revolutionizing whiskey bootlegging, becoming America’s most notorious mobster by controlling his business through manipulation and fear, and paving a pathway that many crime organizations follow today.

    Read More

  • Al Capone

    680 Words  | 2 Pages

    At the same time Capone was working for Yale, his boyhood friend Johnny Torrio moved to Chicago to help run the gambling and brothel business there under mob boss "Big Jim" Colosimo. When Colosimo was assassinated, Torrio became the new crime boss and sent for Capone to help him run the busines...

    Read More

  • Classical School Of Criminology Essay

    1422 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Classical School of Criminology generally refers to the work of social contract and utilitarian philosophers Cesare Beccaria and Jeremy Bentham during the enlightenment in the 18th century. The contributions of these philosophers regarding punishment still influence modern corrections today. The Classical School of Criminology advocated for better methods of punishment and the reform of criminal behaviour. The belief was that for a criminal justice system to be effective, punishment must be certain, swift and in proportion to the crime committed. The focus was on the crime itself and not the individual criminal (Cullen & Wilcox, 2010). This essay will look at the key principles of the Classical School of Criminology, in particular

    Read More

More about Al Capone History Essay

Open Document