A dark side of Chicago’s history has been glamorized in movies and television.
Here’s the scene: Gangsters in old cars shoot Tommy guns at one another on Chicago’s streets. Behind Hollywood’s attempt to capture the drama of the 1920s, Chicago had a real history connected to crime.
In the early 1900s, Chicago offered an ideal setting in which organized crime could develop and thrive. Chicago was a town that attracted hustlers, and the city and its population had grown so quickly that law enforcement personnel had their hands full. Widespread corruption among government officials also added to the problem: People who were supposed to enforce the laws were willing to overlook criminal behavior in exchange for large bribes of money.
At the time, most jobs required working long hours to earn low wages. For the criminal-minded, life as a gangster offered a way to make more money faster. Children who grew up in the city and were exposed to crime and gangs got an early introduction to that life, which may have made finding a path to illegal activity more likely.
Bu hikaye Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids dergisinin January 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Cobblestone American History Magazine for Kids dergisinin January 2017 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Putting the Pieces Together
Americans needed to begin to put the past behind them, come together, and plan for the future in the spring of 1865. But Abraham Lincoln, the man best equipped to lead them and who had hoped to restore the country as smoothly and peacefully as possible, had been assassinated.
LAST SHOTS
The last Confederate forces in the Civil War didn’t surrender in the spring of 1865 or on a battlefield.
AND IN OTHER 1865 NEWS
A group of African Americans stop at the White House’s annual public reception on January 1, where they shake hands with President Abraham Lincoln.
A Plot to Kill President the
For several months, actor John Wilkes Booth’s band of conspirators had plotted to capture President Abraham Lincoln and hold him hostage in exchange for Confederate prisoners.
Let the Thing Be Pressed
In June 1864, Union Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant began a nearly 10-month campaign in Virginia.
HEALING THE NATION
President Abraham Lincoln took the oath of office for the second time on March 4, 1865.
A Helping Hand
The spring season is hard in any agricultural society. Plants and animals are too small to eat.
WAR SHERMAN-STYLE
As far as Union Major General William T. Sherman was concerned, the Civil War had gone on long enough.
PEACE TALKS
The fall of Fort Fisher made clear that the Confederacy’s days were numbered. Southerners were tired and hungry.
FORT FISHER'S FALL
Outnumbered Confederate soldiers inside Fort Fisher were unable to withstand the approach of Union troops by land and the constant Union naval bombardment from the sea.
