American Crime in the late 19th Century

             In late 19^th century America, this great country was still being formed and growing rapidly. Changes and laws were being created all the time in the government’s effort to quickly adjust to the rapid and exciting atmosphere of the states. However, with very little law enforcement compared to today, along with our society, crime was growing too. Some people that wanted to become wealthy, but felt they could not do it through hard work chose to become outlaws; taking their life into their own hands by stealing whatever they could, and killing whoever got in their way. Pat Crowe, Jesse James, and Al Capone were some famous outlaws who ruthlessly defined crime in the late 19^th century.

            Through robbing street cars, murder attempts, multiple kidnappings, and train robberies Pat Crowe made a name for himself in the 1920s. He was born in Iowa, and began working at a butcher shop when he was 17. Crowe was caught stealing money so he got fired. His criminal profession did not take off for some time, but around the late 1880s he began telling people that his name was Frank Roberts, and got serious about his law breaking. He began robbing jewelry stores and kidnapping people asking for ransom. He once attempted to kidnap John D. Rockefeller, but was not successful. His most famous kidnapping was of Edward Cudahy, from whom he gained a ransom of 25,000 dollars.

            (http://dojorat.blogspot.com/2008/05/pat-crowe-outlaw.html)

             (The Encyclopedia of American Crime By: Carl Sifakis Vol.1 2^nd ed.)

            One of the most notorious outlaws in America was the famous Jesse James. Many people came to admire James writing about how stole from the rich and gave to the poor, and was a 19^th century robin hood. These accusations were completely false. Jesse James stole whatever he wanted from anyone he wanted, and kept it for himself. He ruthlessly murdered anyone who was in his way without hesitation. Jesse James’ record stands on multiple and countless train robberies, bank robberies, homicides, and anything else he could organize. Supposedly Jesse and his brother Frank committed the nation’s first bank robbery. Jesse James was a clever and sly outlaw that played by his own rules. He once robbed a bank while they were having a political rally out front, and after he finished, he walked out the front door, and told them that someone was robbing them. When the officials ran inside, Jesse picked up his money and walked out.

(Mobsters and Gangsters) (The Encyclopedia of American Crime By: Carl Sifakis Vol.1 2^nd ed.)

One more infamous criminal was the great Al Capone. As America’s “best known gangster” and “single greatest symbol of the collapse of law and order in the United States during the 1920s Prohibition era,” Al Capone created a name for himself in a different style of crime. Capone in his adult life ran the streets of Chicago with his gangs of thugs. He spread his wings and owned all sorts of organizations that he used to increase his power such as “speakeasies, bookie joints, gambling houses, brothels, horse and race tracks, nightclubs, distilleries and breweries at a reported income of $100,000,000 a year.” Capone earned his money through business and organized crime, instead of bank robberies. He took advantage of the few laws that Chicago had in the 1920s.

(Mobsters and Gangsters)

            These Men define crime in the late 19^th century by taking advantage of the lack of law enforcement in America. Some people choose to be outlaws, and try to slip through cracks in the law. Laws are created from experience and observation of crime. Without them most of our laws would not exist, and our world would be full of chaos.  

Al Capone http://www.nndb.com/people/809/000031716/al-capone.jpg

Jesse Jameshttp://www.legendsofamerica.com/photos-outlaws/JesseJames-500.jpg

Je

Pat Crowe 

http://www.shorpy.com/files/images/05583u.preview.jpg

 

Pat Crowe http://i.cdn.turner.com/trutv/trutv.com/graphics/photos/gangsters_outlaws/outlaws/cudahy_kidnapping/15-1-Pat-Crowe.jpg 

 Al Caponehttp://www.libertymagazine.com/images/icons/articles/how_al_capone_would_run_this_country.jpg

Weather Update: i have five sources and am still researching but have started writing. also its partly cloudy with a high of 76 degrees

Numba 10

Much  of the violence attributed to the Molly Maguires was instigated by informers and agents working for the mine owner. They wanted a pretext for ruthless measures to suppress unionization!!

Country of Immigrants

     Even though I now understand that everyone that lives in America has a relative who migrated here, I still feel that sense of pride for my country, because obviously this place is good, because everyone wants to move here. The USA is unique because it accepts people from foreign lands and offers them opportunity impossible to find elsewhere. America has a huge mix of culture, because people are from all over the world and brought their ways with them.
     Many of our ancestors moved here in search of a new start and a better life. We continue their dreams today by enlarging our businesses and creating families to widen our roots in this country. The American culture has been shaped by our ancestors as they came from difforent lands to live and succeed together. Honoring our relatives and family names in these ways makes me feel closer not only to them, but to my country and culture as a whole.

EVALONGORIAAAAA

      Faces of America was a sweet flic about a man who was inspired by his grandfather to find out more about his past. After discovering some crazy interesting facts about who he was related to, he decided to research the backgrounds of several famous Americans such as Stephan Colbert and Eva Longoria whom which he interviewed and told them his discoveries. The results from the research blew these celebrities away. They were fascinated and appalled at how little they knew about their ancestors.
     It was interesting to see what kind of backgrounds these people came from. This video might serve as inspiration to the viewers to find out more about their past. Researching ones past and ancestors gives a sense of pride for being an American. America is the greatest country in the world and finding out how and why your ancestors moved here makes you feel grateful and proud to be an American.