Gang Violence example essay topic

Since the beginning of time, youth groups or gangs have been in existence. These groups have had many negative effects on society for many years. These youth groups or gangs, as they are commonly called, have participated in many criminal and illegal acts that have plagued society. They have been stereotyped with such negative names as rowdies, bad kids, troublemakers, and many other mischievous names.

Some of the earliest records of gangs date back to the fourteenth and fifteenth century in Europe. Some of the activities that these youths had been recorded as partaking in have been theft, robbery, extortion, and rape. At the same time in London, some of the names these gangs had were the Mims, Hectors, Bugle, and Dead Boys. These gangs did many types of vandalism to the city. Some of the recorded vandalism that had taken place was various buildings with broken windows, taverns that had been destroyed by the gangs, and assaulting the watch. And if the violence on the public was not enough, these deviant groups also had fights with themselves.

When there would be a fight, the separate groups or factions would dress up with different colored ribbons so that they could tell who was with what faction or group. There were also other places where gang violence had been recorded. During the middle ages in France, there were factions that started fights with other factions that were from other places. In Germany during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, gangs were a part of the society. Gangs did not appear to have spread to the United States until the early 1800's. Many Europeans migrated to the United States, mainly the east coast; in seek of a better way of life.

After coming to the United States, the money that many of the Europeans had quickly became depleted. Many of these people had to take out loans to survive with local merchants. Seeing how many of the others had little to no money at all, they also had very little chance for any health care whatsoever. People were dying due to poverty and disease all over. Many people could not take care of there children.

It was very common to see children wandering the streets in search of food, shelter, and clothing. These youths that roamed the streets were mainly in the New England areas like New York, Boston, and Philadelphia. They were seen more as a minor inconvience instead of as a threat as they are seen today. However, during the early 1800's, a gang that resided in New York took to call themselves the Forty Thieves. They were labeled as professional murderers and muggers and were a menace to society. During the industrial era is when the gang problem spread out into Chicago and other well populated areas.

Much of this had to with immigration and population shifts were reaching very high levels. Drugs were not a problem with gangs at this time. However, after the Civil War, many people who were hurt during the war became addicted to morphine. Gangs became aware of the need of morphine for people and began pedal it. During the early 1900's, drugs and alcohol plagued the nation mainly in largely populated areas. Prohibition was a big time for gangs in the 1920's.

Since alcohol was not permitted in the United States, anyone who had or could get alcohol was in high demand. Many gangs quickly profited off of this illegal scheme. Gangs were at an all time high during this era. Street fights that were involving just fists, brass knuckles, and knives were now using guns. This era also produced the notorious Al Capone and John Dillinger.

In the 1800's, the east coast was the primary leader in gang violence. Now Chicago was the center for organized crime in the United States. Special law agencies were created where the agents had special weapons that they could have in their possession. The initial war on organized crime was on. It wasn't until the 1930's that gang membership began to decline. This was mainly attributed to the war.

The war brought fewer gangs to the nation but it also brought hatred and racism to many parts of the country. In California, many Mexicans were the target of many people's racial slurs. This is the time when the Zoot Suit Riots began to take place. After the war was over in 1945, men came home and took the jobs back that the women had been doing.

This led to an increase in unemployment and poverty. Many gangs that are in existence today were formed during the civil rights movement in the 1960's. In the early nineteenth century, gangs were mainly made up of Irish, Jewish, and Italian people. Today, these gangs are made up of everyone including African-American, Hispanic, White, and Asian people.

Gangs are now less concerned with possessing the rights of territory and are more concerned with drug trafficking. They are now seen more as business opportunities. During the early part of the nation many if not all of the gangs were made up of young people. Today the gangs are made up of young and old alike. As technology has increased, so has the fear of gangs. Gangs now have easier access to weapons and drugs and are more of a danger and a threat to society then they once we.