Al Capone

AIN'T WE GOT FUN

Bill collectors gather

'Round and rather

Haunt the cottage next door

Men the grocer and butcher sent

Men who call for the rent

But with in a happy chappy

And his bride of only a year

Seem to be so cheerful

Here's an earful

Of the chatter you hear

Just to make their trouble nearly double

Something happen'd last night

To their chimney a gray bird came

Mister Stork is his name

And I'll bet two pins

A pair of twins

Just happen'd in with the bird

Still they're very gay and merry

Just at dawning I heard

Every morning

Every evening

Ain't we got fun

Not much money

Oh but honey

The rent's unpaid dear

We haven't a bus

But smiles were made dear

For people like us

In the winter in the Summer

Don't we have fun

Times are bum and getting bummer

Still we have fun

There's nothing surer

The rich get rich and the poor get children

In the meantime

In the between time

Ain't we got fun.

Every morning

Every evening

Don't we have fun

Twins and cares dear come in pairs dear

Don't we have fun

We've only started

As mommer and pop

Are we downhearted

I'll say that we're not

Landlords mad and getting madder

Ain't we got fun

Times are so bad and getting badder

Still we have fun

There's nothing surer

The rich get rich and the poor get laid off

In the meantime

In between time

Ain't we got fun.

- Gus Kahn, Raymond B. Egan / Richard A. Whiting, 1921

The 1920's were a time of great economic, social, and cultural change in the United States. World War I had just ended which helped increase the public's optimism and energy. During this time returning soldiers, unskilled laborers and displaced farmers moved to soon overcrowded northern cities. Chicago was one of these cities (Rebman, 44). It was this unique environment of Chicago in the 1920's that helped Al Capone become the most notorious crime figure in history. He was the first gangster to achieve celebrity status. Capone used his many abilities and intelligence to lead a successful career in crime. He could be a ruthless monster yet along the way he would do things to show compassion for the poor, from killing people with baseball bats to opening the first soup kitchen during the great depression with his own money. It was a tumultuous time when people rebelled against the rules and conventions of traditional lifestyles. For the first time, anything could be bought with credit; cars, sofas, iceboxes, pianos, property, even new exciting items like the radio. Almost anything could be bought with the use of deferred payment. Before the use of credit, most people could not buy luxury goods, but now with credit they could. This helped contribute to the growth of organized crime. The 1920's in America brought increasing materialism because there were new and exciting things that could be purchased. There was a higher standard of lifestyle and now lower and middle income families could buy these possessions. Many in the United States began to live a life of working hard and playing hard.

Al Capone was born in Brooklyn, New York on January 17, 1899. The son of Italian immigrants, Capone's family was impoverished although his parents struggled hard to make a living. Early on, Al Capone held a rebellious attitude towards authority. In sixth grade when he was confronted by his teacher for too many absences, Capone's hot temper got the better of him. He punched his teacher, and was sent to the principal and Al Capone decided never to return to school again (Kobler, 27). After dropping out of school he joined a gang, as did many other first generation children did at the time. In the gang Capone joined, 'The Five Pointers', he met future big shot gangster Lucky Luciano. Lucky Luciano and Al Capone became fast friends and remained close for the rest of their lives. Another important figure in Al Capone's childhood was John Torrio. Torrio was an important member of 'The Five Pointers' and was fifteen years older than Capone. When Torrio was called to Chicago by his Uncle Joe Colosimo, Torrio asked Capone to join him there. Al Capone was already suspected of murder at the time and did not want to stick around New York and this invitation was a good excuse to leave. It was in Chicago that Al Capone made his fortune and earned his larger than life reputation as the most powerful figure in organized crime. Chicago was one of the most corrupt cities in the United States during the 1920's. The corruption included crooked election boards that helped shady politicians get elected into office (Pietrusza, 35). An example of one of these questionable politicians that was elected into office because of the dishonest election