1920's
There was no greater symbol of the 1920's than the automobile. The impressive leather coaching and customized interiors radiated luxury and prosperity. The relative ease of operation and reliability meant freedom. Beneath their hoods many of the cars exhibited impressively large engines, delivering speed and excitement. The automobile was arguably the most important catalyst for social change in the 1920's, liberating Americans from often-restrictive home or neighborhood situations. Many women used the cars to save time in their daily domestic chores -- in turn giving them more free time, in which they could educate themselves, or find a job. The younger generations loved the car as an escape from the chaperones. A juvenile court judge criticized the auto as a "house of prostitution on wheels," due to the relatively large quantity of "inappropriate" sex occurring in the car. Businessmen, possessing a faster, more personal form of transportation, could live further from the city and subway stops. Consequently the suburb lifestyle began in places like Queens and the Bronx. Rural Americans loved the car as a ride to town and the social circles. Automobiles had existed before the Twenties, but were expensiv
On November 8, 1924, Mike Merlo, the admired liaison and negotiator between the two rival gangs, died of cancer. John Thompson and Warren Center developed Thompson Machine Gun, also known as "Tommy Gun" or "Chicago Typewriter" as a "Trench Broom" for World War I. On January 24th, 1925, "Bugs" Moran, Jaime Weiss, and Vincent Drucci severely wounded Torrio in a failed assassination attempt. However, as the workload for the domesticwoman decreased -- as she began to use commercial laundries, to telephone her shoppingorders, to drive to the market -- she had more free time in which to conduct her "ownlife. Temperance societies began toform across the nation and carried the Puritanical message -- pleasure is sin. Many of the most sophisticated clubs, or speakeasies, featured famous Jazz Bands. This instrument has been called the zeitgeist of the post war-age, and has been known to provoke close intimate dancing. Reality was a major element of the 20's films. The new "scientific enlightenment" of the latter nineteenth century publishedvarious "facts" about drink, claiming that excessive drinking could lead to spontaneouscombustion, that drinking often led to insanity, that grog led to neglected children, thatbooze robbed the family. Unfortunately for Capone, "Bugs" Moran, boss at the time, was not in the garage. The Prohibition Amendment provided the gangs with an opportunity to make vast amounts of money, and in turn increase their political influence. However, the emergence of jazz and the surrounding culture gains the most attention. While moving pictures had been in constant evolution for decades, the huge feature-length productions of the 1920's must have astounded even the most cynical audiences. John Adams wrote: The worst effect of all [is that] these houses are become the nurseries of our legislators. Capone, escaping impending murder investigations in New York, embraced the Colossimo organization and became the right-hand-man of Johnny Torrio.
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