Bootlegging and Al Capone Essay - 1895 Words

BOOTLEGGING In 1919, the Eighteenth Amendment was passed, this amendment made the consumption and sell of alcohol illegal. A group of people referred to as â€Å"moral reformers† felt that banning the sell and consumption of alcohol would better protect the lives of people as well as make them better (Rose). Businesses, such as industrial businesses, believed that it would better productivity if the workers could remain sober. The Volsted Act was passed shortly after the Eighteenth Amendment to make sure it was enforced since local authorities did not do such; there were only fifteen hundred agents to enforce the law and the act was also underfunded. Therefore, the Prohibition was not enforced well enough and the organized crime rates†¦show more content†¦Rich and poor people opposed the Prohibition and Capone felt that he was, â€Å"†¦supplying a public demand. If (he) (broke) the law, (his) customers†¦some of the best people in Chicago, (were) as guilty a s (he) (was).† –Alphonse Capone (Encyclopedia of World Biography). Capone saw nothing wrong with bootlegging and he often expressed it and showed his opposition towards the Prohibition Act. He stated that, â€Å"Prohibition (had) made nothing but trouble†. He is basically saying that he is not the problem with the crime in Chicago but the government is, for enforcing the law. He also expressed how, â€Å"When (he) sell(s) liquor, it is bootlegging; when (his) patrons serve it on Lake Shore Drive, it is called hospitality.† Now he is saying how he feels the government is discriminating against how alcohol is distributed. Capone is a criminal who’s trying to put reason behind his illegal actions (BrainyQuote). MURDER Al Capone was notorious for his bootlegging and annihilating his competition; in order to do that, he had to kill them. Before Capone became the big time bootlegger/ murderer/ assassination coordinator, he had already taken a couple of lives. Capone had begun working for Torrio as an enforcer, bouncer, and bartender; he was in a bar fight that got him his scar and his nickname â€Å"Scarface†. Shortly after this incident, in 1919, in New York he was arrested because there were suspicions that heShow MoreRelatedEssay On Al Capone1271 Words   |  6 PagesAl Capone was a highly known gangster in the 1920s Alphonse Capone born in Brooklyn, New York to a poor US immigrant couple, Gabriele and Teresina Capone, seeking a better opportunity for their then big family of eight children. He was known for running many lucrative illegal businesses that included alcohol bootlegging, gambling, prostitution, and protection. Al Capone was so notorious that he would murder those who got in h is way. With little prosecution of his actions, Al Capone believed his selfRead MoreBootlegging1172 Words   |  5 PagesA.J. 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