George “Bugs” Moran was one of the most famous gangsters of all time due to his fame during the prohibition era, and constant fighting with Al Capone (“Bugs Moran” National Crimes…par. 3). He was also one of the very few gangsters who was actually street smart because of his crime starting at such a young age (“Bugs Moran” par. 2). He got the nickname of “Bugs; because he was a rather violent criminal, so everyone thought he was “buggy” (Bardsley par. 1). His “buggy” attitude showed by him driving his rival gangs absolutely nuts making most of them, especially Capone, regret that they ever left New York and stepped foot in Chicago (Keefe 6). One of Moran’s rival gangsters once stated, “If I’d known what I was getting into, I’d never have left the Five-Point outfit in New York” (Keefe 6). Although Moran has been rather a mystery until now, his legacy of being the powerful leader of the north side gang will last forever (Keefe 9).
Bugs Moran was born August 21, 1891 in St. Paul Minnesota under the name Adelard Cunin, but his name was eventually changed to George Clarence Moran (Kaczynski 386; “Bugs Moran” National Crimes…par.1; “George Moan” par. 1). His parents, Jules and Marie Diana Gobeil Cunin, were French Canadians that immigrated to the United States before Bugs was born (Kaczynski 386). He grew up living in St. Paul, and he attended Creign which was a private school ran by the Christian Brothers (Kaczynski 386).
Moran started his criminal record in 1910 with joining the horse thievery business (“Bugs Moran” par.2). Soon after he started to get into the gang life and was affiliated with many gangs causing him to be arrested 3 times before he even turned 21 (“Bugs Moran” National Crimes… par. 2). While still in high school h...
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“George Moran.” Britannica School. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .
Kaczynski, Theodore, Givseppe Zangara. American Villains: Volume 2. Hackensack, New Jersey: Salem Press, INC, 2008. Print.
Keefe, Rose. The Man Who Got Away: The Bugs Moran Story. Nashville, TN: Cumberland House, 2005. Print.
O’Brian, John. “The St. Valentines Day Massacre.” Chicago Tribune 14 Feb. 2014:2. Web. .
“Saint Valentines Day Massacre.” Britannica School. Encyclopedia Britannica, Inc., 2014. Web. 25 Feb. 2014. .
Guilford, CT: Dushkin/ McGraw-Hill, 1997. Chiatkin, Anton. A. Treason in America. Washington DC: Executive Intelligence. Review, a review of the book, Divine, Breen, Frederickson, and Williams. America Past and Present.
Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot's History of the United States: from Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror. New York, NY: Sentinel, 2007. Print.
There is a thin line that exists between the depiction of a villain and a gangster that Hollywood has mastered walking on. While villains and gangsters may do many of the same things in movies, like stealing and killing, they each do them for different reasons. Villains enjoy crime because that is what gets them off; some may feel they are doing society a favor, like Uncle Charlie in Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt, and others are more simply portrayed as naturally evil or mentally ill. But Gangsters are doing what they do for something American society can relate to—to make a living and, ultimately, get to the top.
Campbell, Patty. “Radical Monster.” The Horn Book Magazine. Boston: Nov/Dec 1999. Vol. 75, Iss. 6; pg. 769.
Georg Ferdinand Duckwitz was a “righteous gentile” who had a relatively normal life before World War II. He was born in 1904 (jfr.org). He worked with the international coffee trade (jfr.org), established a deep connection with the Danish people (forces-war-records.co.uk), and became friends with Werner Best (jfr.org). "Duckwitz was drawn to the Nazis’ ultranationalist propaganda and joined the party. However, as Hitler’s violent intentions came to light, he became disillusioned with the party (facinghistory.org)." He felt sorry for the Danish Jews and was disappointed that he had joined the Nazi party (facinghistory.org). Little did he know, his friend, Best, had overseen the murder of French and Polish Jews and well as requested (through
People are often remembered for being overly successful, extremely talented, or insanely wealthy; but there are exceptions to every rule. Being a fearless outlaw is not the ideal way to gain fame, but John Dillinger managed to do so. Dillinger’s fearless charisma, led him to go above and beyond to provoke law enforcement. Not many criminals have succeeded in the way John Dillinger did during the 1920s and 30s. He managed to put society in awe due to his obstreperous acts of rebellion. Being one of the most infamous criminals from his time, Dillinger had a huge influence on crime, and has greatly impacted gangsters all over the country.
Throughout all of American history there have been those who are well known for committing what are classified as deviant or criminal acts. Most of those who are well known by the public for their actions have committed deeds seen as extremely controversial such as being cult leaders, gang or mafia members, terrorists, rapists, or killers. The lists of members for each topic is numerous, however, there are a certain few that are more prominent than others. One criminal that stands out when speaking of killers in particular is Gary Ridgway, or as he is better known, the Green River Killer. Gary Ridgway is the nation’s most abundant serial killer, with the highest murder rate in America’s history (Gibson).
Benjamin “Bugsy” Siegel was a man unlike any other, a man who strove to be better than what he was, and who grew up with nothing yet died with everything (Carter 179; PBS par. 1; Bugsy Siegel Encyclpaedia par. 3). Unlike many who give up in life because of the many problems they may face, Bugsy Siegel strove to be better than his father was (Carter 179). Eventually, Siegel began forcing peddle cart vendors to give him payments for protection from himself (PBS par. 2; Carter 179). Thus began Siegel’s transformation to a true mafia man running around with “Lucky” Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and the Murder Inc. which Siegel himself created (Southwell 212; PBS par. 4; Carter 180; Bugsy Siegel Encyclopaedia par. 2). Siegel was on top of the world, he was in charge of Murder Inc., had many mistresses, and his dream of a Gambling Oasis in the Desert was starting to take-off ( Carter 187; Southwell 212); however, tragedy struck one summer evening after the suave Siegel was murdered in his mistress’ home on June 20, 1947 (Carter 189). Bugsy Siegel affected millions of lives worldwide, whether through his psychotic acts as a mafia hit man, or his revolutionary idea of the gambling oasis, that is now Las Vegas (Southwell 212; Carter 179; Bugsy Siegel Encyclopaedia par. 3). Siegel’s tragic death, furthermore, shall forever be in the history books as a tragedy that would forever cripple the world’s chance of being something greater than it is.
2. Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot's History of the United States: From Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror. New York: Sentinel, 2004. Print
Al Capone, America’s most prominent Mafia figure in the 1920’s, also known as “Scarface” for a scar running down his left cheek. Capone didn’t hide in the shadows like most figures in such a shady occupation. He didn’t shy away from the camera, more like he welcomed it, and aimed to be seen by the public as a respectable businessman and a pillar of the community. Surprisingly, Capone wasn’t from a distinctly poor community, his father earned a living as a barber. Capone was introduced to the gang life by a friend and from there it all went downhill and into the life of a gangster.
Imagine walking down the street and notice a group of people talking about you. Would you say something to stop it or would you just ignore it? The Saint Bartholomew Massacre was an unpleasant, bloody massacre that started on August 24-25, 1572. The Catholics were going to attack the French Protestants in France to get rid of any Huguenots that believed in any other religion different as them. This massacre lasted for about two days, which caused many people to lose their lives. The causes, events of the massacre, and the terrible effects it had on people makes the Saint Bartholomew Day Massacre one of the most horrible crimes in history.
Reynolds, Larry. “Patriot and Criminals, Criminal and Patriots.” South Central Review. Vol 9, No. 1.
George Moran, better known as Bugs Moran was born on August 21 1891. He became affiliated with several gangs shortly after moving to the north side of Chicago. He was nineteen years old at the time. Before he turned twenty-one, he had already been incarcerated three times. His parents were of French and catholic descent. His father was from Alsace-Lorraine, and his mother from Chicoutimi, Quebec, Canada. Many believe that Moran chose to turn to life of crime late in his teenage years. However, his jump into organized crime began as a result of prohibition.
Schweikart, Larry, and Michael Allen. A Patriot's History of the United States: from Columbus's Great Discovery to the War on Terror. New York, NY: Sentinel, 2007. Print.
In the roaring twenties, the life of organized crimes was at its peak. What was the greatest mob hit ever pulled off in history? Well I'll tell you. It all happened on Valentines Day, the morning of February 14th, 1929. This incident was call, "The St. Valentines Day Massacre". The man behind this infamous crime was none other than, the infamous Al "Scarface" Capone. Al Capone was the all time greatest mobster of all time. The idea of organized crime fascinates me in so many ways. Capone was the only person to have pulled off such a crime. Al Capone was top gangster in Chicago and was one of the greatest members of the Italian Mafia and George "Bugs" Moran was the leader of the Irish/German mafia and he was the main target behind this hit. He targeted Capone because Al Capones had a bounty on his head, $60,000,000, and found George Moran as a threat. George was Capone's biggest threat of all. He needed to take him out quickly. (Al Capone, True Crime Story). Writing this paper will let me learn a lot more about this massacre. There is one question I would like answered, "Why hadn't Moran's crew made an attempt to fight back?" (Al Capone, True Crime Story). Moran's men had a long history of being violent with others. This is one question that we will never know. My most used source on this essay will be internet information and a book. I feel these sources will give me the most amount of information. Using a magazine will too but it was very hard to find a 20's magazine article.