First, let's talk about New York and the corruption of the 1920's. For a long time, New York was controlled by Irish politicians, which guaranteed that corruption persisted bootlegging, gambling, and prostitution. The major mobster, Arnold Rothstein portrayed Meyer Wolfsheim. Through his contributions to the politicians, he was entitled to a monopoly of prostitution and gambling in New York until he was murdered in 1928. While Nick and Gatsby meet for lunch, one of Arnold's friends in the twenties, Herman Rosenthal is brought into the novel when Arnold talks about him getting shot at the Metropole. Rosenthal was also a mobster who received contributions for illegal acts. He was shot when the police tried to take some of his money, and Rosenthal complained to the papers. Two days later, he was shot for doing that.
             Now about the "Roaring Twenties" and the wondrous Jazz age of music. The Jazz Age took place between World War I and the 1929 stock market crash. The name "Roaring Twenties" came about because America hit a huge increase in the economy. Women were becoming more involved in the U.S. while the war was going on, and politically they were gaining independence. Then after the war, the women lived freer and, the term "flappers" started to come about. Flappers were young, pretty women who dressed extremely nice and had lots of jewelry and fur. Daisy, the character that Nick liked, was sort of a "flapper" type, unlike the other women character in the book, Jordan Baker. Jordan was a more athletic woman, with more independent thoughts and an immoral view on life. Jordan is a woman of America with more power.
             Liberalism was also a large thing in big cities during the twenties. A reaction to this was that the government in the country forced a restriction on the distribution of alcohol. Many parties like the NPP and the WCTM thought it was a dangerous thing that was disruptive to their lives and families. In 1919, Congress outlawed...