Influence Of Prohibition On Gangsterism

Prohibition and its influence towards Gangsterism Throughout the times of prohibition, the rate of gang activity that was involved in daily life rose dramatically due to the desire to obtain alcohol despite the fact that it had been made illegal. “Prohibition in the United States lasted about 14 years from 1920 to 1933, it was the period in United States history in which the manufacture, sale, and transportation of intoxicating liquors was outlawed” (Behr). Intoxicating liquors were beginning to ruin the lives of some Americans and it became banned. “Prohibition, members of the Temperance movement urged, would stop husbands from spending all the family income on alcohol and prevent accidents in the workplace caused by workers who drank

Right after prohibition was established organized crime started to grow in a tremendous amount. These people desired alcohol so much that they were willing to go to such lengths to obtain it and would not be satisfied without it. Gangsters would get their hands on alcohol and then sell it around to everybody including the average citizen who never committed crimes. Even though a lot of people knew drinking alcohol was wrong, their desire for it overpowered their thoughts between what was right and what was wrong. “It would take 250,000 cops to enforce the law in New York City and another 250,000 to police the police”(Behr). Once the 18th amendment was established, organized crime was starting to grow at a fast paced rate and the police force had to hire more and more people, they even had to hire more officers to control other officers that were corrupted by this illegal alcohol trade. Bootlegging started out as a way to make some money and a way to drink alcohol, but soon turned into a multi-million dollar industry led by ruthless gangsters that would do whatever they wanted to do. Gangsters started off by creating places where people could drink and have fun, these were often known as “speakeasies”. “A new breed of gangster arose during this period. These people took notice of the amazingly high level of demand for alcohol within society and the extremely

One of the most notorious gangsters that came to power during the Prohibition era was Al Capone. Capone started to join gangs and dropped out of school like most others did. These gangs were not huge gangs but instead little street gangs that just had rivalries with other street gangs. “Through a gang named Five Points Al Capone came to the attention of New York mobster Frankie Yale”. Capone worked for Yale at an inn; Frankie Yale was a mobster that used only violence to rule his empire. Al Capone eventually left New York and went to work in Chicago with a fresh start. Al Capone was going to go to Chicago and work with one of the most well known gangsters, Johnny Torrio. “Unlike Yale who used violence to run his racket, Torrio was a sophisticated gentleman who preferred cooperation and negotiation to rule his crime organization. Capone was to learn a lot from Torrio”. Frankie Yale and Johnny Torrio ran organized crime in two totally different ways although Torrio could be “cold hearted” on some occasions. After the illegal sale of alcohol had turned into a multi-million dollar industry and grew from a little gang to now an uncontrollable large crime organization, Torrio, after almost getting killed, handed over the organization to Capone. Capone was now in charge of everything and most people considered him very generous because all of his