How Valentines Day Changed Public Attitudes Toward Organized Crime
Summary
Alcohol, so popular among such a broad swath of the population, united previously unconnected people in a way few other things could. There were thousands of speakeasies in major American cities (some estimates put the number as high as 100,000 in New York alone). As gangs and gangsters gained power and influence by serving the public the alcohol so many people wanted, they became folk heroes, at least after a fashion. Ordering the Moran gang members against the wall, the Capone gangsters (two of whom were dressed as police officers) pretended to arrest them. While the number of people killed might seem tame in an area during which we are sadly numb to active shooters, it strongly disillusioned many Americans who (up to that point) considered gangsters exciting or dashing.
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