At this time in history prohibition was becoming a major problem in the United States. The most infamous example of gangs related to prohibition was Al Capone. By early 1929 Capone had neutralized most of his enemies in Chicago, except for one gang located on the North Side led by George "Bugs" Moran. Capone resolved to get rid of Moran before he caused problems. Capone knew that Moran's gang would be at a garage on North Clark Street awaiting the arrival of a liquor-truck convoy. When the truck was scheduled to make the delivery, his men would be waiting for them dressed in stolen police uniforms and trench coats as though they were staging a raid. At 10:30 a.m. on February 14, 1929, Capone put his plan into action.

The assassination squad got into their police uniforms and drove over to the garage in their stolen police car. The bootleggers caught in the act,

The stock market crash announced the beginning of the Great Depression, but the deep economic problems of the 1920's had already begun to spin the United States on a downward spiral. Although the stock market crash did not cause the Great Depression, it reduced the ability of the economy to fix its problems of unevenly distributed wealth, agricultural depression, and banking problems.

It is a common misconception that the stock market crash of October 24, 1929 was the cause of the depression since many other factors contributed to it. The two events were closely related, but both were the result of deep problems in the modern economies that were building up through the "prosperity decade" of the roaring 20's.

A popular book that was published in 1929, was A Farewell to Arms. The main character doesn't seem to be agonizingly concerned with matters of right or wrong in the war, and it seems somewhat separate from him. Even when he is injured it doesn't appear that he is really a part of the war which surrounds him. After he is almost killed by a spy, he resolves to desert the army and be reunited with his love, Catherine. The book seems to be a question on whether he has any feelings for Catherine, or it is just an excuse to escape the insanity of the war. A Farewell to Arms showed how people were escaping responsibility and searching for new ways. This book by Ernest Hemingway was very popular because of it's similarities to reality and still remains that way today.

Americans at this time were turning inward, away from international issues and social concerns and toward greater individualism. The self-centered attitudes of the 1920s seemed to fit in well with the needs of the economy. The industries had the capacity to produce vast quantities of consumer goods, but the prosperity could only continue if demand grew as rapidly as supply. "The key to economic prosperity," a General Motors executive declared, "is the organized creation of dissatisfaction." There also seemed to be an underlying economic problem. Income was distributed very unevenly, and the larger portion was going to the select few members of the upper class society. While businesses showed a remarkable increase in productivity during the 1920's, workers got a relatively small share of the profit. Between 1923 and 1929, manufacturing output per person-hour increased by 32 percent, but workers' wages grew by only 8 percent. Corporate profits shot up by 65 percent in the same period. (McElvaine, 38)

"There had never been an outlaw quite like Al Capone. He was elegant, high-class, the berri

Some common words found in the essay are:
Democratic Party, Clark Street, Ernest Hemingway, Herbert Hoover, Farewell Arms, Al Capone, , World War, Franklin Roosevelt, Day Massacre, stock market, market crash, stock market crash, stolen police, al capone, police car, police uniforms, roaring 20's, chicago historical society, late 1920's, historical society, chicago historical, decade roaring 20's, stolen police car, bergreen chicago historical,
Approximate Word count = 1749
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)