How Did The Economic Conditions Of The Unites States Of America In The Nineteen Twenties Enable Underworld Figures Such As Al Capone To Prosper?

            
             How did the economic conditions of the United States of America in the .
             nineteen twenties enable underworld figures such as Al Capone to .
             prosper?.
             Al Capone became one of the world's most infamous underworld .
             figures in creating a gangster legacy in Chicago in the nineteen twenties. He .
             was able to accomplish this partly through his ruthless yet respectful .
             methods of conducting business. However, his rise was also enabled as a .
             result of the economic crisis in America at the time, and the opportunities .
             that then arose. In this essay we will discuss the causes of how this crisis .
             came about and the effect that it had on the people of the United States. .
             We will then look at Al Capone and his career and how he manipulated the .
             situation in order to reap the benefits.
             The Great Depression.
             "The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. .
             history, and one that spread to virtually the entire industrialised world. The .
             depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade, and was the .
             result of a number of factors. The main cause for the Great Depression was .
             the combination of the enormously unequal distribution of wealth throughout .
             the 1920's, and the extensive stock market speculation that took place .
             during the latter part of the decade. The misdistribution of wealth in the .
             1920's existed on many levels. Money was distributed disproportionately .
             between the rich and the middle-class, between industry and agriculture .
             within the United States, and between the U.S. and Europe. This imbalance .
             of wealth created an unstable economy. The excessive speculation in the .
             late 1920's kept the stock market artificially high, but eventually led to .
             large market crashes. These market crashes, combined with the .
             misdistribution of wealth, caused the American economy to collapse." (1).
             As the author above states, the large and growing segregation of .
             wealth between the rich and the middle-income citizens made the U.