How did the economic conditions of the United States of America in the .
nineteen twenties enable underworld figures such as Al Capone to .
prosper?.
Al Capone became one of the world's most infamous underworld .
figures in creating a gangster legacy in Chicago in the nineteen twenties. He .
was able to accomplish this partly through his ruthless yet respectful .
methods of conducting business. However, his rise was also enabled as a .
result of the economic crisis in America at the time, and the opportunities .
that then arose. In this essay we will discuss the causes of how this crisis .
came about and the effect that it had on the people of the United States. .
We will then look at Al Capone and his career and how he manipulated the .
situation in order to reap the benefits.
The Great Depression.
"The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. .
history, and one that spread to virtually the entire industrialised world. The .
depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade, and was the .
result of a number of factors. The main cause for the Great Depression was .
the combination of the enormously unequal distribution of wealth throughout .
the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place .
during the latter part of the decade. The misdistribution of wealth in the .
1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disproportionately .
between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture .
within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance .
of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the .
late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually led to .
large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the .
misdistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to collapse." (1).
As the author above states, the large and growing segregation of .
wealth between the rich and the middle-income citizens made the U.
Al Capone Gabriele Capone was one of the many Italians who arrived in the United States in 1894. ... So, how did Al Capone turn into the successful and violent gangster? ... At the age of nineteen, he met a pretty blond girl named Mae. ... It was then that Torrio brought twenty-two year old Al Capone from his bookkeeping job. ... He was the largest force in the underworld. ...
Al Capone's parents immigrated to the United States from Naples, Italy in 1893. In January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, Al Capone was born. ... Al Capone spent nearly ten years of his life in Brooklyn with various gangs. ... This incident won Capone control of Chicago's underworld. ... Alphonse Capone was the most famous and well-known mobster in American history. ...
Not only did Capone talk to reporters, he started going out to sport events. ... After a year, the Warden allowed the band to form on the conditions that each member purchased their own instrument and practice was limited to twenty minutes a day. ... Once again forming a strong opinion toward Capone as being a helpless gang boss that was just trying to make a living the only way he knew how. ... He did what he had to do to survive. ... My textbook supports what was said in the books about Capone and the roaring twenties although it was brief. ...
Nevertheless, Capone was a man who took advantage of his time and lived the life of the American Dream: going from rags to riches. ... After five years in the United States, a forth son joined the family as Teresina gave birth to the family's Alphonse Capone. ... Al Capone first began his life of crime after his expulsion from school. ... Elliot Ness actually estimated that Capone had at least twenty breweries in operation with a weekly sales volume in excess of a million and one half dollars. ... However, from this blunder rose venal men such as the infamous Alphonse Capone. ...
Scarface The Roaring Twenties were a turbulent time in the United States. ... Many people knew what Capone did but he couldn't be convicted in a court of law because there was a lack of evidence. ... Al Capone made a large impact on society in the twenties and thirties. ... Al Capone's legacy left lots of thoughts in the minds of Americans (Murray 351-352). With Capone's help the twenties and thirties were a time of "fun" in America. ...
Al Capone was the single greatest leader of illegal scams, which defied the United States government during the 1920's prohibition era. ... Capone was the first of his family to be born and conceived in America (Bardsley). ... The jury found Capone guilty on eighteen of the twenty-three counts. ... Al Capone had a strong effect on society. ... Al Capone was just trying to live the American dream of success....
Gabrielle came over to America in 1894. ... But just because Gabrielle was American didn't mean he was going to name his kids American names. ... Al did very well up until 6th grade when his teacher hit him, and al hit her back. ... Al learned many things from Torrio, like leading a respected life, and how to separate his career from his home life. ... He did a very good job, and was good with figures. ...
Al Capone, also known as Scarface, was America's most notorious gangster in the 1920s. ... From bootlegging, prostitution, gambling, to murder, Al Capone was the center of all criminal activity in the underworld of Chicago. ... Frank Wilson of the IRS special investigation unit found an accounts book from an illegal gambling scheme that had Al Capone's name on it. ... "How does not filing taxes get me in trouble?... I bet Al Capone would have paid his taxes if the IRS gave him multiple warnings....
Al Capone Al Capone was an Italian criminal working the streets of America. ... Long before Al Capone became involved in bootlegging, his excitement in life was the economic opportunity of being a gangster on the streets. ... Everything Capone did was set to flow like a business, and prohibition help him act out his business ways. ... Al Capone was a man with a mission in bootlegging. ... Kobler, John, Capone : The Life and World of Al Capone, New York, Da Capo Press, 1992. 8. ...
