Crime in South and North

Crime in the 1920s, specifically the north centered around gangsters and mobsters, those with organized crime influence who knew how to use it and use it well. They used the dependency the people of the industrialized north had on them to do what they wished without being challenged. Organized crime had a big hand in the lives of people of that time because of the hard times and how easily the people looked to them for answers to their problems. People bought illegal alcohol from them and that was a big market which many gangs fought over the right to. After the illegalization of alcohol were no longer in effect the gangs were still in power and then came in other smaller criminals that were considered heroes amongst people for their crimes as bank robbers. The common american looked up to bank robbers, seeing them as celebrities for doing what they desired to do themselves, and giving hell to those they saw as doing nothing to help out the hardworking american the law enforcements. The crime in the south was based more on racial discrimination, the southern refusal to change their views of immigrants, and those different from themselves. During the 20s you witness the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, a white pride group dedicated to making the lives of those different miserable. In the south they did not embrace the changes like their neighbors the north, with the fast pace life and ritzy fashion and party life. They stayed firm in their beliefs and went to any means to keep them that way, even terrorizing African Americans, immigrants, Catholics, Jews, liberals. They saw no wrong in killing innocents, participating in rapes, and lynchings, they considered it all in the name of ridding the world of those they considered trash and below them. They followed blind ignorance and blind belief when in reality they were the true barbarics, not fit to truly know what is right and that their beliefs are flawed.

Alcohol,Meth,Weed

Although Prohibition occurred in the 1920s, the similarities between that and the legalization of marijuana and fight against meth are easily seen. All three are influenced by the government, and are done in hopes of ridding people of the their harmful habits. The use of weed and meth are outlawed just like alcohol was in the 1920s and just like in the 1920s the use of those illegal drugs are still done.The buyers help fund the running of criminal gangs and keep the gangs continuously in business. The demand for weed and meth are always there and along with a constant supply available that keeps the habit from stopping even with interference by police officers and other law enforcements.Used properly both alcohol and weed can be an easy way to release tension and relax safely, but only if used with control and not abused.I consider meth as a more dangerous habit, one that you can easily die from or one that can cause irreversible damage. The damage created by meth are almost instantaneous where with alcohol and weed they are not, only in most cases where the product was used irresponsibly. Meth kills brain cells and meth really takes a toll on the way you face and body look on the outside and the way your mind thinks, soon after your first use you can easily become addicted to the substance, willing to do any thing for your next hit.Given all three products cause long term effects on your body, but with proper care the effects can be easily reduced .The best similarity between Prohibition and the legalization of marijuana and fight against meth is the hold they have on people and how difficult it is to break that hold, and all the government was/is trying to do is monitor the consumption and help create a stable balance between indulgence and addiction.

Prohibition in Effect, Crime on the Rise

It's safe to say that the government's ban against alcohol did greater damage than good.In 1920 the 18th amendment went into effect, effectively banning the sale,creation,and consumption of alcohol, which stemmed from the government's wishes to lower crime and violence in American lives,in reality it did the exact opposite. Many who still wished to drink turned to those with connections to organized crime,who easily got the goods that where in demand.Also along with the rise of American dependency on organized crime,there also came Speakeasies-bars that sold illegal alcohol- where the public could easily enjoy their illegal beverages outside the comfort of their home and also have a good time. Violence stemmed form unemployment caused by the closing of alcohol related businesses. Also fight over control of the trade of alcohol rose amongst criminal gangs. Organized crime may not have flourished in the 1920s had not been for the prohibition of alcohol causing american people to turn to others for the needs.