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1920s Crime Essay

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The 1920’s were a decade full of social structure, prohibition, and crime. All matters of life changed in the 1920’s starting with prohibition, this sparked a crime movement to illegally sell alcohol. This crime movement gave birth to a new influx of wealthy smugglers. New classes emerged into the system along with the lower, middle, and upper class came the new classes of old and new money. Firstly education was a factor in social change, as between 1920 and 1930 the number of high school students doubled. There was also a growing number of college students this led to a highly trained workforce. This new work force helped to bolster the middle class. Education did not help all aspects of society, those who could not afford it …show more content…

With a better trained work force household income increased but at the same time those who did not have an education often got labor jobs with now chance of promotion leading to a minuscule income. Alternate options were still available to those who looked for their fortune, this took the form of crime. This crime took the form of smuggling alcohol due to prohibition, the risk was high but those who risked often worked their way to the upper class. These newfound wealthy smugglers even though they were in the upper class were separated into a so called “new money” class. In conclusion those who were educated had a higher income and those who smuggled alcohol usually found their way into a separate section of the upper …show more content…

Prohibition was a federal law put in place by the Eighteenth Amendment that made it illegal to sell or consume alcohol. This new law was met with massive backlash and due to this backlash smugglers emerged. With these new smugglers and “underground” bars sparked a new source of income for those willing to get involved with crime. This helped create a new social class of “new money” that was comprised of those who made their own fortunes and in the case of the 1920’s this was done through crime. Prohibition was later repealed due to the wide hatred of the law and massive crime against it. In conclusion prohibition was a law that prohibited the sale or consumption of alcohol and sparked a massive crime wave against it that was then later

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