Introduction
The Great Depression was an intense global economic downturn resulting from a stock market crash. This period significantly devastated the United States economy leading to the failure of several banks, a rise in unemployment rates, a collapse of international trade, soared deflation, as well as a rise in homelessness. The Great Depression led to the rise of famous gangsters who committed criminal activities throughout the United States. Their crimes put them under the watch of the FBI on the “Public Enemies” lists of wanted criminals. Despite their evil practices, most of these criminals are loved by Americans up to date. The Great Depression influenced the love these criminals received from the public, their public persona, as well as the significance of their exploitation activities to the changes made in the criminal justice system.
Public Enemies in the United States
John Dillinger, a notorious American criminal, was not only a renowned robber but also a celebrity. He spent the better part of his short life in trouble by engaging in notorious criminal activities all across America. He gained popularity as one of the celebrity criminals to be widely and constantly covered by the media, thus attracting the public’s attention even more. Dillinger and his associate, Ed Singleton, attempted to rob Frank Morgan, a grocery owner, which led to their arrest. They were arrested and sentenced to imprisonment, but upon Dillinger’s release, he opted to upgrade from a petty offender to a hardcore criminal.
Charles Floyd, an alias “Pretty Boy”, was one of the criminals who aroused public discussions and opinions. To some, Floyd was a common thug, while others regarded him as a “hero” who had chosen to go for banks that had seized people’s property and sent them to misery. Floyd had witnessed banks seizing properties from people who defaulted on services mortgages during the Great Depression. However, Floyd found himself in the arms of the law when he was arrested and sentenced to five years for holding a money transit vehicle. After his release, Floyd moved to Kansas City, where he fully transformed into a hardcore criminal. During bank robberies, he not only stole money, but a word has it that he also destroyed mortgage documents
Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow were an interesting couple that amazed the public with their tactfully engaging in criminal activities. Their involvement in armed robbery, grand theft auto, murder, and evading being apprehended had impressed many, including the authorities. The two lovebirds committed spent good and times together until the day they were ambushed and killed by the police. By the time of their death, they had already killed nine police officers and four civilians. The state of lawlessness during the Great Depression made it easy for them to engage in committing crimes and be able to get away with it.
Alphonse Gabriel Capone is remembered as one of the founders of Chicago Outfit, a criminal gang. He rose to fame during the Prohibition era when his gang controlled all the illegal activities in Chicago. Prohibition law enforced the ban on the manufacturing, importation, distribution, and sale of alcohol in the United States. Criminal gangs seized the opportunity to illegally engage in the banned activities that made them a fortune. This enabled them to arm themselves and intensify their evil operations. Surprisingly, they conspired with corrupt law enforcers who provided them with an enabling environment to do their business freely without fearing being accosted by the authorities. Despite the massive success in his illegal activities, Capone was arrested, sentenced, and served a jail term for tax evasion before he was released. His criminal career started while he was still in his home city, New York, where he was a member of the Five Points Gang.
In the early 1930s, there was a state of lawlessness where kidnappings and killings of innocent people had become rampant. A year later, the Lindenberg law was passed to increase the jurisdiction of the FBI. However, the public had lost confidence in their law enforcers and government despite the creation of the “Public Enemies” list and adding the names of the most wanted criminals to it. Upon noticing this, President Roosevelt spearheaded the making of the policy that would allow FBI agents to carry guns and make arrests. As a result, the FBI got empowered to disarm and counter the activities of the armed criminals destabilizing the country by bringing arraigning them to face the law. As a result, “public enemies” with their respective gangs.
Conclusion
In conclusion, “public enemies”, who started up as petty thieves in their childhood, grew to become the most wanted criminals in the United States. The Great Depression heightened the state of lawlessness, thus allowing them to intensify their robbery activities. The public loved their thrilling robbery stories presented by the media. This period enabled criminal gangs to grow and intensify their evil activities against the public. The government enacted laws that helped curb these first-growing crime groups as well as subject them to justice.
Bibliography
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