Christopher Alfaro

Professor Kitana Ananda

ENG103

November 24, 2017

 

 

Al Capone.

 

When talking about dark years in the history of the United States it is almost impossible to skip the era of the “Roaring 20s”. It is undeniable that the American culture changed in many different aspects especially in different cities across the country. The City of Chicago was no exception to this. The population was increasing as much as the skyscrapers being built. Immigrants from all over were coming to this city searching for jobs and opportunities. The United States was always a door with “hope” and “prosperity”, but Chicago had something special. It was a city for strong people who weren’t afraid of being out there.This is what infamous criminal mastermind Al Capone was known for and this is why the city was his. He was made for those streets like Bonnie was made for Clyde. Capone’s acts of violence indeed shifted the life of many others and his operations proved the authorities were still a step behind the organized crime groups. Surprisingly people admired the man in the extravagant suits. The citizens of Chicago were in a moment in history ruled by Capone’s organized crime that led to many changes in society. What made Capone so different?

 

Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, to immigrant parents. He had a big family, as he was just one out of nine kids. Life as an Italian immigrant couldn’t be easy. Now being poor had just made everything much harder. Think about it, these are families that had found their way to an unknown country in search of a better life. Not only did these families come to new country, but they also had a new language to learn and also a new culture to familiarize itself with. Tobegin painting a picture:

At the turn of the century more than half of the population of New York City, and most immigrants, lived in tenement houses, narrow, low rise apartment buildings that were usually overcrowded by their land-lords.” (loc.gov).

 

The Italian Americans that came here, often came in big families and lived in very small spaces. Sadly, for many families that were just beginning, this was the most that they could do. Now, this wasn’t the situation for every family and eventually this was seen less and less as the years went on, but it was very common at the start of the period of Italian immigration to the U.S. When it is said that the apartments were tiny and overcrowded, it actually means that. No exaggerations. The conditions many of these people were living in were absolutely insane.

 

The labor was absolutely terrible, for both men and women. Women were actually limited to only working in sweatshops or factories, and some didn’t even work at all! kids worked the streets selling newspapers for an incredibly low salary, if we can even call it that. Like in everyday lives, there are two possible scenarios for a situation. Scenario one: Everything is fine and life is great. Scenario two: Life isn’t as great or at its absolute worst.

 

“Some Italians seized upon entrepreneurial opportunities in their new home.In turn-of-the-century San Francisco, a Neapolitan American named A.P. Giannini began offering small loans to his fellow Italians, going door to door to collect interest. Eventually, Giannini’s operation grew until he was forced to rent an office in the North Beach neighborhood, then to buy a building. Today, Giannini’s Banca D’Italia has become one of the world’s largest financial institutions, the Bank of America” (loc.gov)

 

Does that name ring a bell? That’s something you STILL see today, multiple years later. Of course this is more like Scenario One, where everything ends up working out. He wasn’t the only person to take advantage of what he had in front of him. Unfortunately this wasn’t the reality for many Italian immigrants.

 

“Many Italian immigrants, however, found themselves toiling for low pay in unhealthy work conditions. At the turn of the 20th century, southern Italian immigrants were among the lowest-paid workers in the United States” (loc.gov).

 

Italians spent their days working in factories, delivering things, at docks, or even in mines. Most of the responded to a “Patron” who actually exploited the workers. This probably wasn’t as bad as things can get but it was definitely on its way. The salary was barely enough for their monthly expenses, and unfortunately this led to families kicked out of tenements. The second scenario was the reality of many during this period of time. Maybe Al Capone saw this future ahead of him and it had an effect in the decisions he made later on in his life. As he got older he responded to no Patron, and he was the boss himself.

 

Capone dropped out of school in the sixth grade. At a very young age he tried doing anything he could and started getting involved in street gangs and getting his name out there. Fast forward to Chicago, 1920. Al Capone had arrived to begin leaving his mark of infamy. At the time he arrived at the second largest city in the nation following New York City, after its reconstruction of course. Capone had arrived to this city to work for childhood friend Johnny Torrio. In “Get Capone”, the timing was perfect.

 

“…Things began to turn during the years of World War I. A wave of temperance swept the country. Americans we expected to sober up and sacrifice for their nation. Even Chicago cleaned itself up a little. Saloons were raided. Licenses were revoked. The high-end whores and drug dealers, fearing arrest, quit working in bordellos and dance halls and moved to hotel lobbies, where they could be more discreet” (Eig, 7).

 

Shortly after the occurrences listed above, The Prohibition law was in effect. Capone had arrived just in time to go against everything that the law said, and since the streets were a bit cleaner he was ready to take action. With the levels of alcohol consumption dropping to an all time low because of this law, Capone’s eyes lit up like he had everything solved. His first crime, and the one that started it all: Bootlegging.

 

Capone’s plan to make money was genius. He was determined to give people what they wanted and he was determined to make his fortune off going against the law enforcement. Is this is correct? Absolutely not. He did what he thought he could do best. He used his tools and experience in bars, brothels, and gang activities to his advantage. According to “Get Capone”, the more the city expanded, the more its crimes did. “By 1910, a special commission reported that five thousand full time prostitutes and ten thousand part-timers worked the city, and that, combined, they were responsible for more than 27 million sex acts a year” (Eig, 5). The amount of money made in these illegal activities was unreal. Bad things always seem the most searched for and they are were what sold the most. Chicago was a city that as its streets got emptied, it starved for the crime it once had. Al Capone started his story by feeding it by bits.

 

The story of Al Capone has two sides. One known by all which is filled with hits, attacks, illegal alcohol, etc. The other side of events gave Capone a lot of respect and admiration from the community. In the year 1929 the United States lived its worst times due to the great depression. The country suffered immensely, and the citizens pleaded to the government for help. This caused many people to be out in the streets. There was no money or jobs. The country was inhabitable, because of course the rich stayed rich while the poor and middle class suffered. Al Capone had a soft spot for this. Although he was a wealthy man, he helped out some people who needed it. During these very difficult years, there were many people out in the streets, with no shelter and no food. Al Capone opened some of the first soup kitchens to feed those who needed to be fed. He handed out clothes during the long winters to those who lacked it. Why bother help those who are in the streets? Perhaps this menace had a heart after all. Maybe he knew what it was like being poor, and although it isn’t much, it’s something.

 

A small act like this is very much needed in troubled times like those. To see it come from a man like Al Capone really says something. It shows to society that people can still help if they actually wanted to. How many people got the message? I wouldn’t be able to give you the answer to that but it sure does send a message. He wasn’t your average criminal who constantly had to hide from the authorities. No, Capone was a celebrity.  Just as any other celebrity he was constantly in the public eye.

 

Was he treated any differently BECAUSE he was “different”? Sure there were many other mafia families and gangs, which means there were many other mobsters roaming the cities. They might have committed many of the crimes Al Capone did, but why was he such an exception in the eye of the law? Surely other criminals did time for homicides and robberies, but Capone avoiding these charges made him almost untouchable. The ironic thing is that hewas actually charged for something so simple.

 

But his crimes were not easily proven in court. So federal prosecutors charged Capone not with running illegal breweries or selling whiskey or even slaughtering rival mobsters, but with failure to pay his income taxes” (Columbia Law Review).

 

It seems almost hard to believe, this is what the man FINALLY did time for. It was so difficult to prove Capone guilty for things the whole world knew he was in charge of, the police could never bring out the truth and along with the FBI charged him with this. Like I said in one of the previous paragraphs, the Police department was always a step behind the organized crime groups. Many things would’ve been avoided if they had just found the proper evidence, or charged him of anything they were really sure of. It was Al Capone’s way with words and actions that stopped this from happening. Yes, a lot of things could’ve been stopped with Capone being locked up earlier. The difference between him and the other mobsters was that he made sure to commit the perfect crime.

 

 

 

 

Works Cited:

 

 

  • Eig, Jonathan. “Get Capone: the Secret Plot That Captured America’s Most Wanted Gangster”.

Simon & Schuster, 2011.

Columbia Law Review, vol. 150, no. 2. Mar. 2005, pp. 583-639

First Draft

Christopher Alfaro
Professor Kitana Ananda
ENG103
November 16, 2017

Two Sides of Capone.

When talking about dark years in the history of the United States it is almost
impossible to skip the era of the “Roaring 20’s”. It is undeniable that the American culture changed in many different aspects, especially in different cities across the country. The City of Chicago was no exception to this. The population was increasing as much as the skyscrapers being built. Immigrants from all over were coming to this city searching for jobs and opportunities. The United States was always a door with “hope” and “prosperity”, but Chicago
had something special. It was a city for strong people who weren’t afraid of being out there. This is what infamous criminal mastermind Al Capone was known for, and this is why the city was his. He was made for those streets like Bonnie was made for Clyde. Capone’s acts of violence indeed shifted the life of many others and his operations proved the authorities were still a step behind the organized crime group, but people admired the man in the extravagant suits. The citizens of Chicago were in a moment in history ruled by Capone’s organized crime that led to many changes in society, and despite contrary belief not all were bad.

Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, to immigrant parents. He had a big family, as he was just one out of nine kids. Life as an Italian immigrant couldn’t be easy. Now being poor just made everything much harder, which led to Capone dropping out of school in the sixth grade. At a very young age he tried doing anything he could, and started getting involved in street gangs and getting his name out there. Fast forward to Chicago, 1920. Al Capone had arrived to begin leaving his mark of infamy. At the time, he arrived at the second largest city in the nation following New York City, after its reconstruction of course. Capone had arrived to this city to work for a childhood friend, Johnny Torrio. In “Get Capone”, the timing was perfect.

“…Things began to turn during the years of World War I. A wave of temperance swept the country. Americans we expected to sober up and sacrifice for their nation. Even Chicago cleaned itself up a little. Saloons were raided. Licenses were revoked. The high-end whores and drug dealers, fearing arrest, quit working in bordellos and dance halls and moved to hotel lobbies, where they could be more discreet” (Eig, 7).

Shortly after the occurrences listed above, The Prohibition law was in effect.
Capone had arrived just in time to go against everything that law said, and since the streets were a bit cleaner, he was ready to take action. With the levels of alcohol consumption dropping to an all time low because of this law, Capone’s eyes lit up like he had everything solved. His first crime, Bootlegging.

Capone’s plan to make money was genius. He was determined to give people
what they wanted, and he was determined to make his fortune off going against the law enforcement. Is this is correct? Absolutely not. He did what he thought he could do best. He used his tools and experience in bars, brothels, and gang activities to his advantage. According to “Get Capone”, the more the city expanded, the more its crimes did. “By 1910, a special commission reported that five thousand full time prostitutes and ten thousand part-timers
worked the city, and that, combined, they were responsible for more than 27 million sex acts a year” (Eig, 5). The amount of money made in these illegal activities was unreal. Bad things always seem the most searched for, and they are what sells the most. Chicago was a city that as its streets got emptied, it starved for the crime it once had. Al Capone started his story by feeding it by bits.

The story of Al Capone has two sides. One known by all, which is filled with
hits, attacks, illegal alcohol, etc. The other side of events, gave Capone a lot of respect and admiration from the community. In the year 1929 the United States lived its worst times due to the great depression. The country suffered immensely, and the citizens pleaded to the government for help. This caused many people to be out in the streets. There was no money, no jobs. The country was inhabitable, because of course the rich stayed rich and the poor and middle class suffered. Al Capone had a soft spot for this. Although he was a wealthy man, he helped out some people who needed it. During these very difficult years, there were many people out in the streets, with no homes and no food. Al Capone opened some of the first soup kitchens to feed those who needed to be fed. He handed out clothes during the long winters to those who lacked it. Why bother help those who are in the streets? Perhaps this menace had a heart after all. Maybe he knew what it was like being poor, and although it isn’t much, it’s something.

A small act like this is very much needed in troubled times like those. To see
it come from a man like Al Capone really says something. It shows to society that people can still help if they actually wanted to. How many people got the message? I wouldn’t be able to give you the answer to that… But it sure does send a message.

Archive Response

Christopher Alfaro
Professor Kitana Ananda
ENG103
October 27, 2017

Archives Response:

The first document is a report from the City Council of New York that was written not so long ago, in the year 1982. This was written by the Legal Service Division and it discussed the situations these Haitians immigrants were facing at the time. The document discusses the immigration and naturalization of the Haitians that fled their countries due to extreme situations to the United States seeking a safe haven but instead were held in detention centers.

An approximate amount of 2,200 Haitians had left their countries due to Political repression and other extreme cases, and instead of being welcomed they were imprisoned in 11 centers across the country. They were locked up but were not being treated as criminals, meaning they didn’t have the rights they should have as a “felon” (Right to a lawyer, Innocent until proven guilty, etc.). This had occurred to a group of 53 people that was detained at the Brooklyn Navy yard.

The second document is also from the year 1982, and it explained to the American public what exactly was going on behind the scenes and what the U.S Government and the Reagan Administration was doing with the Haitian Refugees and also with the Duvalier Regime. This text puts a blame on the U.S government for what was going on in Haiti and why its people left. Also, a very important fact mentioned was that in just a bit more than a year there were 3000 Haitian refugees in both the U.S and Puerto Rico.

The main focus in both these documents are the Haitian people and their situation. They try to inform and generate a solution to help these people that are kept prisoners and in risk of deportation. I believe that the second document had an intention of aid but also of exposure and it wanted to open the American public’s eyes to cause a reaction to the events. Also, this
association in the second document demands solutions and proper treatment to the people of Haiti. This is an act that may start a movement against the U.S government.

The association demands things such as the release from camps and political asylums for all Haitian refugees, an unconditional amnesty for all undocumented workers, and I believe most importantly they demanded that the U.S stopped supporting the Duvalier dictatorship with economic and military aid. In these documents I learned about a new piece of history. I learned about the situation people went through in Haiti because of their leader, and the treatment they were given when searching for a better life. It does not surprise me that even back then, things like this occur and sometimes the people that are supposed to be defending and standing up for us do so many unconstitutional and corrupt things. Deporting these people is just as good as killing them. Sending them off to a far away and unknown place kills every last bit of hope they had of starting a new life.

Research Topics

The topic I would like to speak about focuses on the Italian Mafia here in the United States. Now, when speaking about the Italian mafia there are a lot of different areas that can be covered. Many families were formed in different parts of The United States and that period or “Mafia Era” went on for many years. One person that I would like to write about would be the infamous Al Capone along with his Chicago gang, but I wouldnt focus on him. I’d like to understand the different ways in which the mafia’s actions and crimes affected society, and also how the authorities viewed and treated Italian immigrants because of the war against the organized crime groups.

I am really interested in this particular topic because I grew fan of the 1920’s-1960’s and the Mafia when I was in middle school. In my social studies class, we learned and had discussions about the Sicilian mafia, the origin and how strong they were here in the United States of America. Aside from the fact that these were very dangerous years, I really liked the way things were. Small things like the way people lived and dressed, the way vehicles and buildings looked just really caught my attention.

The positive thing about this theme would be that there are alot of resources I can use. There is alot of information to pick up. I can easily get books, or look up a New York Times article from the 1930’s. Since this was such a significant period in history, all of this information is out there. If I had to pick another topic, I may go with something going on in our world today, and it would most likely have to do with Donald Trump and his new tantrums. I’m not really sure if I’d like to go deep into present day politics, but this is just an idea.

Educational Narrative

Christopher Alfaro

ENG103

September 18, 2017

My most memorable years probably had to be in middle school. I attended I.S.145Q,  in Jackson Heights. The 3 years spent here were filled with ups and multiple downs. It was at this age where I started declining academically. My interests drifted away from the academic fields and I started seeing beyond following an academic path.


Obviously this was just my mind roaming off elsewhere, because I really didn’t like school. I showed up and did everything that had to be done, but I wasn’t enjoying it. Despite the lack of interest, I did learn a lot and discovered my interest for history and also art in the 7th grade. At this stage you tend to start developing your personality and I started finding myself and building myself up. I met people that had I had things in common with and they’re still my best friends till today. We had similar struggles but found ways to help each other succeed. I spent most of my afternoons after the 7th grade in detention for all my latenesses, and was even suspended multiple times because of it. It was so bad, my dean had told me I had set a record of latenesses for the school year. Although it probably all sounds bad, my years in middle school have many positive moments.

This eventually came to an end after graduation, obviously. A month later I moved to Colombia and started High School later that year. This was a drastic change  in which the Educational system was way more advanced than I could have imagined, but also an amazing experience. At first I struggled a whole lot because of how advanced they actually were. In my first year, they were already deep into chemistry and physics. Something I don’t remember seeing in middle school. Because of obstacles like these, I felt worse towards school. At that moment, I started looking in a different direction. I found a passion for soccer in me I didn’t know existed. I took it upon myself to make something happen and fit practice sessions into my school schedule and after graduating High School, I was more than committed to it.

This forced me to give up things any other teenager my age would do, such as go out late nights, drinking, partying, etc. In my head this was all worth it but I would ask myself “How bad do I want it?” More than anything. I eventually went on to playing at a semi-professional level, and Because of certain conflicts with my parents, I left Colombia to come here and start school. Back to school though, it’s something I feel like I needed to go through. Those three years really pushed me to challenge myself and do more than I thought I was able to do and bring my grades up or in other situations. These years of my life are important to me because of that drastic change experienced while leaving the country. After a whole life here, I moved onto something different and made the best of it. Sometimes events like those can change you as a person and make you want to strive for all types of success, like it did to me.