Al Capone
Essay Preview: Al Capone
Report this essay
AINT WE GOT FUN
Bill collectors gather
Round and rather
Haunt the cottage next door
Men the grocer and butcher sent
Men who call for the rent
But with in a happy chappy
And his bride of only a year
Seem to be so cheerful
Heres an earful
Of the chatter you hear
Just to make their trouble nearly double
Something happend last night
To their chimney a gray bird came
Mister Stork is his name
And Ill bet two pins
A pair of twins
Just happend in with the bird
Still theyre very gay and merry
Just at dawning I heard
Every morning
Every evening
Aint we got fun
Not much money
Oh but honey
The rents unpaid dear
We havent a bus
But smiles were made dear
For people like us
In the winter in the Summer
Dont we have fun
Times are bum and getting bummer
Still we have fun
Theres nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get children
In the meantime
In the between time
Aint we got fun.
Every morning
Every evening
Dont we have fun
Twins and cares dear come in pairs dear
Dont we have fun
Weve only started
As mommer and pop
Are we downhearted
Ill say that were not
Landlords mad and getting madder
Aint we got fun
Times are so bad and getting badder
Still we have fun
Theres nothing surer
The rich get rich and the poor get laid off
In the meantime
In between time
Aint we got fun.
– Gus Kahn, Raymond B. Egan / Richard A. Whiting, 1921
The 1920s were a time of great economic, social, and cultural change in the United States. World War I had just ended which helped increase the publics optimism and energy. During this time returning soldiers, unskilled laborers and displaced farmers moved to soon overcrowded northern cities. Chicago was one of these cities (Rebman, 44). It was this unique environment of Chicago in the 1920s that helped Al Capone become the most notorious crime figure in history. He was the first gangster to achieve celebrity status. Capone used his many abilities and intelligence to lead a successful career in crime. He could be a ruthless monster yet along the way he would do things to show compassion for the poor, from killing people with baseball bats to opening the first soup kitchen during the great depression with his own money. It was a tumultuous time when people rebelled against the rules and conventions of traditional lifestyles. For the first time, anything could be bought with credit; cars, sofas, iceboxes, pianos, property, even new exciting items like the radio. Almost anything could be bought with the use of deferred payment. Before the use of credit, most people could not buy luxury goods, but now with credit they could. This helped contribute to the growth of organized crime. The 1920s in America brought increasing materialism because there were new and exciting things that could be purchased. There was a higher standard of lifestyle and now lower and middle income families could buy these possessions. Many in the United States began to live a life of working hard and playing hard.
Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 17, 1899. The son of Italian immigrants, Capones family was impoverished although his parents struggled hard to make a living. Early on, Al Capone held a rebellious attitude towards authority. In sixth grade when he was confronted by his teacher for too many absences, Capones hot temper got the better of him. He punched his teacher, and was sent to the principal and Al Capone decided never to return to school again (Kobler, 27). After dropping out of school he joined a gang, as did many other first generation children did at the time. In the gang Capone joined, The Five Pointers, he met future big shot gangster Lucky Luciano. Lucky Luciano and Al Capone became fast friends and remained close for the rest of their lives. Another important figure in Al Capones childhood was John Torrio. Torrio was an important member of The Five Pointers and was fifteen years older than Capone. When Torrio was called to Chicago by his Uncle Joe Colosimo, Torrio asked Capone to join him there. Al Capone was already suspected of murder at the time and did not want to stick around New York and this invitation was a good excuse to leave. It was in Chicago that Al Capone made his fortune and earned his larger than life reputation as the most powerful figure in organized crime. Chicago was one of the most corrupt cities in the United States during the 1920s. The corruption included crooked election boards that helped shady politicians get elected into office (Pietrusza, 35). An example of one of these questionable politicians that was elected into office because of the dishonest election