The+Chicago+Outfit,+Johnny+Torrio

Home 1920's Topics __1920’s Project Assignment__ The Chicago Outfit, Johnny Torrio Alex Kern
 * [[image:Torrioj.jpg caption="Givovanni "Johnny" Torrio"]] ||= [[image:Johny_Torrio3_with_colosimo.jpg caption="Mob Bosses: Colossimo and Torrio"]] ||
 * [[image:chicagomafia2.jpg caption="Chicago Outfit or "Chicago Mob""]] || [[image:bootleggers.jpg caption="Chicago Bootleggers"]] ||

__Task One---DESCRIBE YOUR TOPIC -Due Tuesday, February 7__ Each topic includes an association or movement and an individual. Please write __two__ extended power paragraphs that address the following prompt:**Explain the achievements associated with your topic. Who and what were altered? Describe why both were significant in the 1920s. Explain the relationship between the individua****l and the association or movement.** POST PARAGRAPHS HERE
 * Support the ideas in each paragraph with evidence from a minimum of three  credible sources.
 * Select only signed  sources from the LC databases--each source must have a credible author.
 * Establish the credibility of the author the first time a source is referenced.
 * Credit sources with internal citations and in a Works Cited.
 * Insert the Works Cited after the Third Task.
 * Post the paragraphs to the wiki. Timely posting of completed tasks earn 10 points.

Johnny Torrio, Italian born and American raised, was a part of an important event of the 1920s, The Chicago Outfit. When he was only two years old, his mother emigrated with him to New York City where they lived in the slums of the lower east side of Manhattan. When Torrio was a teenager, he led a street gang called the James Street Gang. Torrio then moved on from petty street gangs in New York, to the big league gangs in Chicago when he was 27 years old. He began working for his uncle “Big Jim” Colosimo, a crime boss. Torrio handled the small details of the business while Colosimo did all the big work. However, Colosimo got into some trouble with another gang, and Torrio saw this as an opportunity to take down his uncle and succeed in the business himself. He inherited Colosimo’s entire empire(Encyclopedia Britannica). After the murder of Colosimo, Torrio hired Al Capone to be his wing man. Together, they managed Colosimo’s business and ran several side businesses of their own. According to Pamela K. Smith, a writer for the ABC-CLIO database, “Torrio had taken over all of his uncle’s businesses after “Big Jim” divorced his aunt and invented his own murder. Torrio, with Capone as his lieutenant, took in millions of dollars from gambling, prostitution, and, with prohibition, bootlegging”(ABC-CLIO). After the chaos of running this gang, being shot at and sent to prison, Johnny Torrio retired to Italy and left Al Capone in charge of the business. However, the retirement of Johnny Torrio did not stop the Chicago Outfit from continuing the bootlegging business.

Crime has always been a part of American Society. In the 1920s, organized crimes centered around gangs emerged into everyday life. These gangs extorted money from local merchants and business men in exchange for protection, hence “organized” crimes. One organized crime associated with the 1920s was The Chicago Outfit. The Chicago Outfit was a gang that specialized in organized crime, especially in the prohibition era. According to an article on the ABC-CLIO database, Many Americans rejected the idea of prohibition and therefore “gangsters opened clubs, replete with drinking, dancing, and gambling[during Prohibition] that even ordinary citizens attended”(ABC-CLIO). There were huge profits made from the opening of these clubs, so the Chicago outfit along with other gangs started their own breweries and distribution networks. A print form the History study Center states “Their[the gangs] vast wealth enabled them to bribe police and judges and to dominate many city governments. Johnny Torrio, Chicago’s underworld boss, boasted:’I own the police.’ ”(History Study Center). The Chicago Outfit, along with other gangs, were extremely powerful in the 1920s and left a big impact on society and how it functioned.

Works Cited:

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Smith, Pamela K. "Johnny Torrio." Issues: Understanding Controversy and Society. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

<span style="color: #121917; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> "crime." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

<span style="background-color: #ebebeb; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Torrio, Johnny." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition. <span style="background-color: #ebebeb; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012. <span style="background-color: #ebebeb; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> < <span style="background-color: #ebebeb; color: #666666; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline;">[] <span style="background-color: #ebebeb; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">>.

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Prohibition." History Study Center. The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> History, 2001. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

<span style="background-color: #9008b6; color: #7dff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px; text-align: left;">__Task Two-EVALUATE YOUR TOPICS INFLUENCE-Due Friday, February 10__ <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Please write two extended power paragraphs which each cite a minimum of three credible sources. Discuss the scope of influence of your topic on the 1920s. How extensive was the influence? Which part of society was influenced? Did the change endure or stimulate additional changes? What is the topic's legacy? What impact did the topic have in the Twenty-First century. <span style="color: #008000; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px;">POST PARAGRAPHS HERE

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The Chicago Outfit was a very influential part of the 1920s, especially during the prohibition era. Many of the gangs started during the prohibition era because it provided opportunities for people to make lots of money by selling illegal alcohol. The demand was high, therefore, gangs such as The Chicago Outfit saw this as an opportunity to get rich fast. However, everything took a turn for the worst when the business got out of hand and gangs started getting violent with each other. An article on Oxford Reference Online describes it as “bloody showdowns of gang warfare” and these gang fights put many people in danger(Oxford). The Chicago Outfit even influenced modern day society. Today, organized crime is still present in the United States. Many of the gangs in the 21st century are centered around illicit drug-distribution systems. There are many different gangs of different races, all doing illegal acts. Even though they are not as violent now, the gangs have not disappeared from American society. Oxford Reference Online states “There is little reason to believe that the crime economy of the new gang culture will stop growing, whatever the scale of repression mounted by law enforcement...”(Oxford). Organized crime was a big part of America’s past and will most likely be a part of the future as well.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> When Johnny Torrio’s uncle was murdered, Torrio took over his business of being the leader of The Chicago Outfit. While Torrio was very involved in the gang, he retired early and handed over the gang to Al Capone, who was a very influential individual in the 1920s. According to Oxford University Press, Capone “dominated the city’s underworld”, he did a lot of bootlegging and led the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre in 1929(History Study Center). While Torrio himself might not have had a big influence on society in the 1920s, his action to appoint Al Capone as the leader left a great impact on many people in Chicago. He didn’t have much of an impact on the 21st century gangs leaders, however he was a very important part of the Chicago Outfit at the time.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Works Cited:

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Organized Crime and Prohibition." albany.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333399; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press Infohio - NOACSC. 9 February 2012 <http://www.oxfordreference.com/views/ENTRY.html?subview=Main&entry=t122.e0660>

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Capone, Al." History Study Center. Oxford University Press, 2006. Web. 9 Feb. <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> 2012.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Capone, Al." History Study Center. The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> History, 2001. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

<span style="background-color: #9008b6; color: #7dff00; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Task ThreeJUDGE THE IMPACT OF THE INDIVIDUAL & ASSOCIATION---Due Feb. 15 <span style="display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 15px; text-align: left;">Now that you have a basic understanding of your topic, and you know the scope of its influence, explain the forces that produced or created the topic. Additionally, what were the driving forces behind the society's reaction to your topic? Use the criteria described in the the Great Man Continuum to determine your topics long-run influence on society. Place your topic on the continuum and justify the reasons for your placement. Please confine your analysis to two extended power paragraphs with each citing a minimum of three credible sources. <span style="color: #008000; display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 16px; text-align: left;">POST PARAGRAPHS HERE When placing the Chicago Outfit and Johnny Torrio on the Great Man continuum, I would place this event more towards social determinism. The Chicago Outfit was influenced by prohibition, which is an external source. Also there is no individual that cause this event, or at least had a large impact on it. Johnny Torrio was a large part of the Chicago Outfit in getting it started, but he retired young and any person in the world could have started this gang. For example, when Torrio retired, the gang was taken over by Al Capone. He did the exact same things as Torrio which proves that anyone could have done this job and The Chicago Outfit is more towards social determinism on the continuum.

Johnny Torrio and the rise of the Chicago Outfit all started with the Volstead Act, otherwise known as prohibition. When alcohol was banned from being manufactured and distributed in the United States, many gangsters established their own breweries and distilleries in order to make big bucks from a lot of wealthy people who wanted their alcohol. An article on the History Study Center states that “the worst effect of Prohibition was that it led to a vast increased in organized crime” including the Chicago Outfit(The History Study Center). These gangs were very dangerous and had a big impact on society. Citizens of high class would buy liquor from these gangs and in turn, they gangs would make large profits. According to an article from albany.edu, “The profit motive caused over four hundred gang related murders a year in Chicago alone”(albany.edu). Society was afraid of this gang because of the amount of violence and the threat the violence posed on an individuals everyday life.

WORKS CITED: <span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 11px;">"Organized Crime and Prohibition." albany.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb. 2012.

"crime." American Government. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Prohibition." History Study Center. The New Penguin Dictionary of Modern

<span style="background-color: #fff9e5; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">History, 2001. Web. 6 Feb. 2012.

<span style="background-color: #7dff00; color: #000080; font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 18px;">POST WORKS CITED HERE

<span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Rubric for all three tasks: <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">Outstanding paragraphs include the following elements: <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Accurate power paragraph format with each paragraph citing evidence from three different sources. <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Correct research components such as credibility statement, <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px;">internal citations, Works Cited entries <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Thoughtful and thorough response to the each prompt <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ A variety of sentences with interesting, clear diction <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Photos exemplifying the influence of the individual and association or movement <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;">✓ Place your topic on the Great Man Continuum; <span style="color: #800080; display: block; font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 19px; text-align: left;"> ✓ Complete the criteria table to justify the reasons for your placement.