January 16th National Prohibition became effective under the 18th amendment, which stated that American citizens were forbidden to sell or transport any intoxicating liquor. Prohibitionists believed that the sale of liquor was a social crime, the drinking of liquor was a racial crime and the results were of criminal actions. And quoted Lombroso and other criminologists to support their theory of liquor being the cause for the majority of criminal acts throughout the US.
             The 1920s saw a rapid increase in the American crime-rate. This was mainly owing to the illegal alcohol trade that had been developed to overcome prohibition. However gangs and crime syndicates did not begin with prohibition. They rose to power through the murderous wars of labour and Capital in the days of the robber barons. The simultaneous coming of automobiles, Thompson machine guns and telephones allowed successful local gangsters to extend their control over wholes cities and states. However to maintain their success a steady income was needed which was provided by a national prohibition. All the main cities in America suffered from this problem but the most violent and corrupt was Chicago. During the late 1920s Chicago was dominated by a gangster called Al Capone. It has been estimated that in 1929, Capone's income from the various aspects of his business was $60,000,000 (illegal alcohol), $25,000,000 (gambling establishments), $10,000,000 (vice) and $10,000,000 from various other rackets.
             In order to protect such lucrative business interests from other gangsters, Capone employ a team of heavily armed men. Gang warfare broke out in Chicago. The most notorious incident was the St Valentine's Day Massacre.
             Alphonse Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1899. When he was 22, he was recruited by Johnny Torrio, a bootlegger in Chicago. Torrio was one of the many people who had established his business after the passing of the National Prohibition Act i
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