St. Valentine's Day Massacre: End Of Bootlegging

The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre marked the beginning of the end of bootlegging. To understand its importance and its purpose in marking the end of famed crime lords such as Al Capone and the widespread criminality of smuggling alcohol itself, we must look at the background. Al Capone, Chicago’s most powerful gangster, became a crime lord in 1925 at the age of 26. He participated in several crime rings such as bootlegging, along with prostitution and gambling. For years, a large portion of the people of Chicago, and even around the country, were complacent with gangsters like Capone. Many of them benefitted from the bootlegging, as a significant portion of Americans tried to drink when they could. Because of this, they tolerated criminality to a certain extent, largely until the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. While Al Capone had been investigated for multiple crimes, none had any evidence so far, and the public wasn’t quite willing to cooperate with authorities either. However, this did not mean that there wasn’t large tensions between bootlegging gangs. Chicago frequently had gang-related murders and gun-outs. One of the largest rivalries between gangs was one between the Al Capone and George “Bugs” Moran, who was an Irish gangster while Al Capone was …show more content…
Valentine’s Day Massacre took place in 1929, on its namesake, Valentine’s Day. While the majority of people send cards and roses, Al Capone’s gang decided to send sheer bullets. They at first devised a plan. Using a stolen police car and masquerading in police uniforms, they went to a garage, where Bugs Moran operated a large part of his business. Bugs Moran saw the police cars arrive at his garage, and therefore turned back. His men, however, were not so lucky. Al Capone’s men ordered Moran’s men to turn around and face the wall. There, they would open “lead” and killed all of Moran’s men, except one named Frank Gusenberg who would succumb to his injuries only minutes