Al Capone: The Bad Side Of Gangsters

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Gangsters of the 1920’s and 30’s are looked upon as “bad people”. The general assumption of people today, looking back at their criminal acts, is that these guys are cold blooded killers and cold blooded killers only. While that may be true, there was a side to some of them that we tend not to illuminate. A decent side. A helpful side. A side that would surprise many of those whose minds are set on the fact that all gangsters were absolutely terrible people. There is one infamous gangster however, who stuck out to me as a wrongfully convicted villain. While he did commit many brutal murders, robberies, and many other crimes, he had a side not many people knew about or dared to recognize. This man, was Al Capone. On the top of Chicago’s criminal spectrum, Capone is commonly viewed as a bad, bad man. Although I do agree that he was a killer, a thief, and clearly did not have the greatest history, he had a normal side to him as well. A side we could all relate to.
Al Capone was born January 17, 1899 in New York, NY. Capone grew up in a large italian family with not a lot of money. Because of his upbringing, Capone came into the world at a high risk for criminal involvement. Capone was a good kid at a young age. He got B’s through elementary school and was a hardworking student. Some of his educators remembered him as being “big and strong for his age, with a quick temper”. One day, when he was in Junior High, his teacher attempted to give him a talking to for misbehaving; in return, Capone sassed back. When Capone sassed back, the teacher got upset and hit Capone. Capone then struck his teacher back. The teacher then brought Capone to the principal's office where he got beat up by the principal. Al Capone never came back to school a...

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... began to participate in a crime known back then as “bootlegging”. Bootlegging was in high demand and the US government prohibited the consumption of alcohol. Many addicts would purchase alcohalic beverages illegally from the bootleggers. Even non-addicted, higher class, wealthy folk would sometimes participate in bootlegging. Capone would even sell booz out of the common hot spots people would attent in Chicago. Like a modern day drug dealer finding the highest population of addicts, Capone found the highest demand of alcohol and took advantage of the opportunity, and many people viewed that to be not so bad.
In the late 1930’s, America slipped into an economic depression. Stocks plumited and so did the value of a dollar bill. Many people in America were angry and nearly all were affected by it. Many americans viewed the depression as entirely the bank’s fault.

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