to home born Americans. Many of those who failed took that competitive drive to achieve the American dream and applied it to crime.
             The gangs of early New York emerged out of the chaos of mass immigration and became a necessary evil to protect individuals against other criminals. In the poorer neighborhoods, where the gangs held sway, there was little to no police protection so people joined gangs as a way of protecting themselves. Some of the prominent leaders of early gangs were often intelligent men who nonetheless found that crime was the only area in which they were really accepted. The leader of the notorious Five Points Gang, which numbered 1,500 at the high of their power, was Paul Kelly. "Kelly spoke fluent English, French, Italian and Spanish" (Pg. 3 IGL) and after his retirement from crime he became a successful businessman when he invested his money into brothels. Also two lieutenants in the famous New York Gang, The Dead Rabbits, Tommy Hadden and Kit Burns had the wit to invest their money into gambling dens and other bars and both died as millionaires. Some of the most infamous names in organized crime would watch these early pioneers succeed in illegitimacy and would choose a life of crime themselves.
             The immigrants who were coming into New York brought with them a history and culture all to their own. Many ethnic gangs would bring the culture as well as the violence of the country that they immigrated from and incorporate it into their new gang structure. Many of the Irish immigrants brought with them a tradition of violent resistance and secret societies. These traditions played a key role in the creation of early gangs. One example of traditions from the old country being carried over to the new was the early New York gang called the Whyos, whose membership was exclusively Irish. Although they were available for the contract killings of anyone they would prefer their target to be Englishmen and would e...