Brandon Hontz, Michael Andrew, and Spencer Tomlinson

B. Harkins
US History Hon (6)
14 December 2015
Al Capone
Al Capone, born on January 17, 1899 in Brooklyn, New York, was the fourth of
nine children in his family. Although he was born into a normal working family, Capone
was a troubled kid. After a fight with his seventh grade teacher and principal, he quit
school and joined the Five Point Juniors, a counterpart of the Five Point Gang. Capone
quickly became involved into the criminal world as he was mentored by a racketeer
named Johnny Torrio. Johnny showed him how intelligence could be used to make a
fortune, however Capone still maintained regular jobs. By the age of 19, Capone and his
future wife had their first son, Francis Capone. Francis had contracted syphilis as a child
and developed symptoms of the disease. Capone, Mary and Francis moved to Baltimore
in search for a better life, where he worked as a bookkeeper for two years. All was well
until his father died. When Capone went back to New York for his father's funeral, he met
back up with Johnny. Johnny convinced Capone to move to Chicago and to begin his
career as a gangster. The Torrio-Capone organization capitalized on the sale and
distribution of illegal alcohol. When Torrio took a break to care for his family, the
Capone brothers expanded this organization. They protected their interests by bribing
police officers and politicians, killing rival gangsters, and appealing himself to the public.
By taking advantage of the prohibition movement, Capone was able to reach great
success. The manufacturing of moonshine was made useful for bootleggers like Capone.

Capone, living in a society of organized crime, feared for his life at times. In attempt to
calm down the violence, he tried organizing peace conferences between gang leaders,
however was not successful. Violence continued with no means of stopping. A planned
attack on a rival gang in which Capones men disguised themselves as police officers and
busted Morans (a rival gang leader) men, ultimately killing all seven gangsters there,
is known as the St. Valentines Day Massacre. Capone was then labeled as Americas
most famous gangster. Capone's power, the size of his organization, his public appeal
and media presence during his reign, and his prominent physical features all served to
make him a legend.
The 1920s proved to be a time of interesting circumstances that led to many
changes from the world that people knew at the time. The 1920s, otherwise known as the
golden twenties, changed the world in many ways; one may say it was a time of moral
evolution. Though the passing of the 18 amendment the world of crime grew to a new
th

level. The Mob, or the mafia, grew and became more renowned and feared. The
American Mafia, an Italian-American organized crime network with operations in cities
across the United States, particularly New York and Chicago, rose to power through its
success in the illicit liquor trade during the 1920s Prohibition era. Focusing on one of the
biggest mob bosses to live, Al Capone was a ruthless respected leader in the world of
organized crime. Capone changed the light of organized crime and the Mob. Crime
syndicate, known as the Chicago mafia, was Capones Realm and creation. Capone
helped the make the twenties the time that they were by sticking a new war between the
government and law enforcers and the mafia. Because of the chaos created by
bootleggers and prohibition, Capone didnt necessarily help the 1920s, yet he made a

huge impact on the organized crime. Organized crime can be defined as serious crime
coordinated and conducted by people working together on a continuing basis. Their
motivation is often, but not always, financial gain. Organized criminals working together
for a particular criminal activity or activities are called an organized crime group. The
syndicate was an illegal group that funded the alcohol trade during a time of prohibition.
Al Capone is still talked about, and taught about today. There are many books and
movies being made about him today. Researches are still trying to find out more
information about his life and why Capone did the things he did. The media used to be
very critical of Capone during his heyday. That opinion of Capone has changed a lot
throughout the years leading up to now. Al Capone has been given a more balanced look
at what he did, and even some sympathy at times. We now understand the difficult time
that people were going through during the Prohibition era, and can relate to what people
had to go through to get what they want. Al Capone was a very interesting man in history,
and there are many curious people who want to know more about him. There are many
academic circles, and groups that teach about Prohibition and Capone to college students
and universities. This allows more people to understand what Capone really, why he is
famous, and what impact he made on the U.S. today.

Works Cited
Iorizzo, Luciano. "Final Thoughts on Capone." Al Capone. Connecticut: Greenwood,
2003. 103-11. Print.