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Gang Crimes In The 1920s

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Gang Crimes In The 1920s
The 1920s were filled of very prosperous times but also many bad and corrupt things happened. Warren Harding was the president during this time but his memory is corrupted by the administration he set. The 18th amendment was put in act which made alcohol illegal, which skyrocketed gang crimes. Sports were becoming extremely popular and legends were being made. It is sad that most people just know this time of having the biggest sports scandal ever. In the 1920s, crime was extremely relevant; there was crime in politics, gang crimes were at a all time high, and there was the biggest scandal in sports history. The Warren G. Harding administration caused havoc throughout the country by having scandal after scandal. The first clear evidence of …show more content…
Organized crime started before the 1920s, but it skyrocketed during prohibition. Even after prohibition ended, gangs started selling narcotics or stolen goods and it is still going on even today(Berson, et al). The Eighteenth Amendment made alcohol illegal in the 1920s. The demand for alcohol however actually increased and gangs started making and transporting alcohol(Berson, et al). Gangs became powerful influences in many businesses and even in politics. Leaders of gangs became very popular, some being Al Capone and Bugs Moran(Berson, et al). What finally got the most famous gangster Al Capone was the tax fraud. He tried to bribe anyone he could but never got anywhere and served 11 years jail time(Mayo).Organize crime like this was even in sports and in the 1920s the biggest scandal in sports history …show more content…
On 28 September 1920 a Chicago grand jury indicted eight Chicago White Sox baseball players for conspiring to throw the 1919 World Series, which they had played against the Cincinnati Reds. The players accused were pitchers Eddie Cicotte and Claude "Lefty" Williams, first baseman Arnold "Chick" Gandil, shortstop Charles "Swede" Risberg, third baseman George "Buck" Weaver, left fielder "Shoeless Joe" Jackson, and centerfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch(“Baseball”). William Gleason suspected something was wrong in game one of the World Series and reported it to Charles Comiskey, the owner of the White Sox. Comiskey told the commissioner about the problem but the commissioner dismissed it(“Baseball”). Chick Gandil and Eddie Cicotte admitted to taking money for throwing the World Series. Joe Jackson had been to the meetings but played very well during the World Series(Syrett). Joe Jackson and Ed Cicotte were both extremely hurt by the scandal. Jackson had a Hall of Fame background and Cicotte was at the peak of his career but sadly both of their careers were tarnished by the scandal(“Baseball”). These scandals were just some of the scandals that plagued the
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