Criminal Activity Of The 1920s Essay Examples

The 1920s was a booming financial time for the United States, but it was not just legitimate business who were profiting at the time. It was also a time of a variety of crime at many levels of government, organized crime, civic and business organizations. In the fictional novel The Great Gatsby, much of this is alluded to. But one does not need to turn to fiction to find their fill of the type of crime that was happening at this time. All one needs to do is look at the history of the time to see just how rampant crime was.
Tim Nash, a 20th Century Crime Historian writes, “What a time the 1920’s was, with the party atmosphere it was certainly a time of great criminal activity.” (Nash, 1). Nash sees prohibition as being part of what was fueling the crime wave of that decade. Alcohol may have been outlawed, but people were continuing to buy it from bootleggers, which created a nationwide and well organized criminal network to help people procure the outlawed spirit. This is what caused “Criminals like Al Capone, Bonnie and Clyde and John Dillinger” to become the “headliners of the era” (Nash, 1).
Even the pristine office of the presidency of the United States was not immune to these scandals. His administration was blighted with scandals, including the Alien Property Custodian Scandal in which the head of an important federal oversight agency was imprisoned for criminal activity (US History, 1).
Most notable was the Teapot Dome Scandal. This scandal involved the Secretary of the Interior who was found guilty of taking bribes from oil companies. While there were implications in the Harding administrations, history has concluded that his mistake was lack of oversight and poor decision-making in appointing cabinet members.

Works Cited

"Organized Crime in the 1920's and Prohibition." Organized Crime in the 1920's and Prohibition. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.
"Teapot Dome Scandal." Teapot Dome Scandal. Web. 31 Mar. 2015. <http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1377.html>.
"The Harding Administration." The Harding Administration. Web. 31 Mar. 2015.