The Great Depression: Organized Crime
1) Al Capone became head of the organization at the age twenty-six years old.
2) Torrio killed a relative to expand the business illegally. Torrio is Al Capone's mentor. Later, Al Capone replaced him to be the leader.
3)The Valentine's Massacre on February 14,1929, Capone's men kills another gang in a warehouse.
Document B
1) The birth of organized crime was a negative consequences of prohibtion.
2) Al Capone became extremely powerful by bribing the police and producing and selling alcohol.
Document C
1) Gangsters got richer and more violent for the control of liquor sales.
2) Illegal activities such as prostitution and gambling, also grew during the 1930s
3) Outlaws such as Bonnie and Clyde, John Dillinger, or Pretty Boy Floyd grabbed newspaper headlines and people saw them as heroes.
Document D
1) New crime wave was street crowd violence, which was a social response to The Great Depression.
2) Corruption of the authories aided success to criminal operations.
3) Al Capone receives an eleven-year prison sentence for income tax invasion on October 24, 1931.
4) J. Edgar Hoover's special agents capture or kill all of the famous midwest outlaws.
Document E
1) Money over bootlegging, much rival between gangs lead to over 400 hundred gang related muders a year in Chicago alone.
2) Bootleg alcohol was the source and the fuel to organized crime.
Essential Question
What was life like during The Great Depression?
Life was difficult for the people that watch their money disappear in front of their eyes. Before The Great Depression, Prohibition ban alcohol, which is leading into my research. Many people reacted in different ways, such as street crowd violence. Some did it out of anger and some did it to get food.People commited suicides, because they couldn't deal with the pressure. Organized crime was the icing to the cake. Bootleg alcohol fuel the business. Gangs fought over the sales of alcohol. Crime and death rates increased majorly during The Great depression.
Classroom Assessment
1) What was the source of the organized crime?
a) street riots
b) Al Capone
c) collapse of the stock market crash
d) Bootleg alcohol
2) Who is Al Capone?
a) mobster
b) outlaw
c) doctor
d) singer
3) Social response to The Great Depression
a) prohibition
b) gang wars
c) street riots
d) Corruption of the authorities
4) What was Al Capone convicted for?
a) st. valentine's massacre
b) tax invasion
c) Robbing a Bank
d) prostitution
5) Ways to get money
a) kidnapping
b) selling bootleg alcohol
c) robbing banks
d) all of the above
Thank You !
