Crime and violence in the US quickly began to rise in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Cities were most impacted by the violence due to new gangs forming and riots occurring over political and racial affairs. During the time period from 1880 to 1920 much urbanization was happening and the crime and homicide rate went up heavily to 102,000 in 1900 and in 1919 it was at 700,000. During this time period many new innovations were being created and events were documented much better than before. Newspapers being printed regularly impacted the country by letting all the people know what is happening such as crime, murders, and scandals.
A notorious gang, The Valley gang was a violent gang that originated in Chicago Illinois in the late 19th century. The gang consisted mostly of Irish descendants and they ran the street known as the Bloody Maxwell section on 15th street in Chicago. The crime that was popular within this gang was pick pocketing and armed robbery. By 1900 the gang became the leading force in the underworld of Chicago. They were later noticed by Capone and the Chicago Outfit gang and became allies with them over a few years. Following the bootleg wars both allied gangs were battling their rival gang the Ragen's Colts and many other gangs and law enforcement during the time of prohibition. The leader of the Valley gang was Patty “the fox” Ryan until killed by gang rival Walter “runt” Quinlan in 1920. Capone allowed the Valley gang 40% of his income for return for protection from The Ragen’s Colts.
The Chicago Outfit Gang ran by Al Capone was a very wealthy and notorious gang also originating in Chicago Illinois. The gang controlled large movements and shipments of liquor during the prohibition. This gang was also known as the Chicago Mafia due to the heavy presence of Italian descendants in its members. It was founded by Big Jim Colosimo in 1910. The gang didn't really show their power until around the 1920’s. The gang was involved in much crime during the early 20th century. The crime consisted on distribution of large amounts of alcohol, loansharking, gambling, prostitution, extortion, political corruption and murder. The rival gangs most delt with by The Chicago outfit were the Ragen’s Colts, Five Families gang, Detroit Cleveland gang, and the Milwaukee gang.
Another street gang in Chicago at the time was the Ragen’s Colts, known rivals with the Chicago Outfit gang and the Valley gang. The Ragen’s Colts started off as a sports club consisting of men playing sports. The gang was later formed by leading pitcher Frank Ragen and this is where the name for the gang came from. The number of members in the gang rose from 160 in 1902 to over 2,000 in 1908.Frank Ragen was known to hire lots of men to partake in election fraud. The gang had also financed many careers in Chicago including the Chicago Police and city treasurers. By 1920 many of the men were already known as notorious criminals or murderers. This gang was believed to be a leading cause of the riots in 1919 in Chicago.
The Chicago Race riot of 1919 was caused by torment and disagreements brought on by gangs towards african americans. The Large racial conflict started on the 27 of July and ended on the 3rd of August. 38 people were killed in this riot and 500 were injured. It was the worst of 25 riots during the red summer. The cause of this riot was conflict due to african americans moving into big cities that were filled with urbanization. The Irish descendants that were already living there at the time did not like that the African Americans were moving in and this started the racial conflict and riots in Chicago. The Irish living their fiercely defended their thought to be territory and this created fighting between races. The battle to find jobs was immense and this was a main reason for the conflict because everybody was looking for labor. The racial battle became violent after a young black boy was killed by a rock hitting his head.
Overall the late 19th century and early 20th century was a time period starting to experience more and more crime. The murders and violence brought on by gangs were a large part of the troubles faced by large cities ranging from the north to the south. The rise of violence was caused mainly due to urbanization and the racial battle that was going on. From 1880 to 1920 many good thing in the united states occurred but there were also a large amount of crime that came along with it.
Chicago riot of 1919
Riots Across the US
Valley Gang
Al Capone
Ragen”s Colts
I used this source to find different gangs in the Chicago region
I used this source to study and gain facts about the race riots of Chicago and around the nation.
I used this source to study the Chicago Outfit gang ran by Al Capone
I used this source to study the Ragens Colts Gang also in Chicago
I used this site directly for information about the Chicago Race riot.
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_events_red.html
I used this source for additional information about the race riots.
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