Organized Crime in America

Mis à jour le 18 February 2024 by Matt Biscay · Lecture: 4 minutes

This is post 1 of 5 in the series “Prohibition and Organized Crime” This series delves into the historical context of Prohibition in the United States (1920-1933), its impact on society, and how it catalyzed the rise and establishment of organized crime.

Organized Crime in America
Evolution of Organized Crime
Organized Crime : Expression and Repression
Organized Crime and the Prohibition
Organized Crime: Repression and Censorship

Organized Crime in America (1929 – 1951)

1929: Wall Street crash, which forced gangsters to find a new way of making money in a time of recession. 1951: middle of the Cold War.

Kefauver hearings started the huge mystification of the Mafia, discovering that organized crime was still on in the U.S. First TV debates on organized crime.

In history, gangsters and Organized Crime did exist. Between history and culture, there are matters of ideology: in what way does that interact with what was seen on screen?

Presence of censorship and self-regulation for films. Sometimes people wanted to ban or censor gangster films: interactions between politics, culture and crime. Movies influenced the war against crime.

The history of Hollywood is that of people for and against those movies. Creation of compromises: “production code” (not censorship) to see what people disliked and to escape post-censorship.

But how censorship is possible in the US? (c.f. the first Americans and the liberty of expression). It was considered as a commercial venture. A way of skirting the censorship was to show 2 shots to see a person killed instead of one (the latter was prohibited).

O’Sullivan’s Manifest Destiny

Mis à jour le 20 December 2023 by Matt Biscay · Lecture: 2 minutes

This is post 5 of 11 in the series “From the Puritan settlements to the American Civil War (1787-1877)” From the Puritan settlements to the American Civil War (1787-1877)

Introduction

O’Sullivan is one of the most famous journalists in American history. He is the one who coined the expression “Manifest Destiny”.

He was a Democrat and the official spokesman for American expansion (we should remember that Democrats stood for expansion whereas Republicans were against it).

O’Sullivan wrote two important articles: “The Great Nation of Futurity” in 1839 and “Annexation” in 1845, where he added a justification to American expansion.

For O’Sullivan, the two major words were “manifest destiny” and “justification”. That theme of destiny is not new: since the beginning of American history, the Puritans have always emphasized the special destiny of America.

That conception, based on exceptionalism, was essentially religious and lasted for two centuries.

In the 19th century, the theme of destiny became a political ambition, an official policy led by President Polk, who was elected on a manifest destiny platform. The 19th century was more down-to-earth.

Life in the Plantations

Mis à jour le 20 December 2023 by Matt Biscay · Lecture: 2 minutes

This is post 3 of 11 in the series “From the Puritan settlements to the American Civil War (1787-1877)” From the Puritan settlements to the American Civil War (1787-1877)

Introduction

Most slaves were forced to work long hours under close supervision. Most slaves could rely on their masters for basic welfare: clothes, food, and shelter.

On many plantations, slaves grew their gardens and some even enjoyed a few holidays or received some rewards.

Subjugation and resistance

Concerning the problem of subjugation, the slaveholders tightly circumscribed the world of their slaves: they had to carry passes with them when they were off the plantation and were forbidden to go out at night.

There were slave patrols, vigilant in finding offenders. Punishment was severe and quick.

As a means to prevent communication, the Slave Code forbade teaching slaves how to read and write; but about 10% of the slaves risked punishment to achieve literacy: the ability to read and write was understood to be the key to freedom.

Concerning resistance, the degree to which slaves resisted their subjugation reinforced the police state (1831: Nat Turner’s rebellion). Either they resisted or ran away.

A successful escape was very difficult. Despite the number of punishments, there were always runaways willing to take the chance of escaping and reaching the North.

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