Deviance In America-Gangs

9 Pages 2167 Words

he population grew at a rapid pace, and the gap between the rich and poor widened. All across the nation gangs appeared here poor, hopeless people lived. The dawning of the 20th century also brought with it a widespread use of firearms.
By mid 1920’s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago and more than 25,000 members. Gang warfare in Chicago was widespread and fighting took place along ethnic, cultural and racial lines. Some gangs had no noticeable cultural, ethnic or national ties and consisted of mostly whites.

The 1920’s and 1930’s saw the rise of Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles. By 1940’s Chicano gangs established their place in Los Angeles-their zoot suits (a style of dress incorporating tapered pants, long wide shoulder coats and broad brimmed hats) had become a familiar sight. Fighting back against harassment of white residents and visiting soldiers during the so-called zoot suit riots in 1943 strengthened their cause.
After World War II gang membership:
1. Became younger,
2. The nationality of the membership became largely non- white (though Italians, Irish and other white ethnic groups still made up a percentage),
3. Drugs became a more publicized concern,
4. Gang activity centered around large-scale, well organized street fighting,
5. Firearms were used more often,
6. The structure of organization became more rigid,
7. And society at large became concerned with gangs as a social problem and worked toward rehabilitation.
During the 1950’s gang fighting rose to an all time high in cities like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles and Cleveland. Gang members were usually in their teens. Codes of dress (black leather coats were popular) and mannerism were an important means of identification. Body language said a lot about the nature of the gang. When a gang decided to become a fighting, or ”bopping” gang, its members immediately took on a different way o...