American Gang Culture Research Paper

American Gang Culture: Then & Now There are many different parts to our american culture; music, clothing, knowledge, education and so much more. In this paper we’re going to be talking about America’s gang culture, what is was like from the beginning of our nation to now. The overall purpose of this paper is to cover over the gang activity in society, what it has done in the big picture of our culture, and how gangs have affected how we live our lives today. This paper will be covering from the Cartels, street gangs, Klu Klux Klan, biker gangs, the mafia, and even the gangs during the Prohibition and what is still active today to when it happened back then. All of these gang have a unique and strong way they present themselves in each individual
aspect, and how they make themselves to be. Depending of the personal view of society, we can trace American gang culture starting all the way in the beginning. The Sons of Liberty although take more of a role of the founding fathers of our nation than a ruthless gang still in different ways qualify. One of the actions that they are known for is when The “Sons of Liberty attacked the Royal Navy schooner Gaspee in Narragansett Bay, shot the captain and wounded some of his men, and burned the ship to the water. An attack on one of His Majesty's ships, formally commissioned in America for the Royal Navy and sailed by officers of the naval service commissioned by the king, was clearly an act of war. It brought down the wrath of the Royal Navy on the southern coast of New England.” (Armstrong) Although this gang not like the others have had a positive impact on the American society and not as much as a negative one. Another group that is very well known through American history is the Klu Klux Klan that started in 1865.
The KKK was started after the American Civil War and was made up of previous soldiers fighting for the Confederacy. The KKK was mostly a rebellious group because they were not exactly happy with how the war ended and how the North (US Government) was making them change their lives to fit the North’s stipulations.The KKK’s main purpose was to be the face of resistance to the reconstruction era and the rights, freedoms, and the economic stability of the newly freed African Americans. The KKK was best known for how they lynched, tortured, suppressed, and controlled with fear the lives of African Americans. The KKK still has an effect on today's culture with how we as a nation are still trying to abolish racism in our country and not go with the harmful and hateful ways of the past. Although the KKK is the most popular of the radical racial groups there are many others that stand out for white supremacy, for instance the Neo-Nazi’s and the skin heads are just a few other groups out of the very
many. The mob during the prohibition was a very strong force that was very supported by the Americans that was still wanting alcohol to be consumed. There are many and many famous American gangsters from this time era, one of them being Al Capone who was very widely known for his distribution of alcohol and how his operation went down. Although their effect on United States is not really seen anymore they had quite a contribution back in the day with rebelling against the government. The different types of mafia’s in the United States have been a problem in our nation for many people for a long time now. A mafia is basically a group of criminals that originally came from italy. They have been known to sell and distribute drugs, guns, and many other things illegally and in many cases immorally as in killing, torturing, and stealing. They are still very alive and well still doing their illegal businesses affecting American culture in the cases of drugs and violence. American Biker gangs are a really well known source of gang activity all around America. Well known for their rough motorcycle based life one the roads all over the United States, Canada, Europe and all over. Biker gangs are known for selling and distributing drugs and weapons along with their extreme violent stereotype. Although different gangs differ as different groups with different morals and standards, they all have the basic look of big leather jacket, motorcycle, and very wild and aggressive attitude. Some of the well known biker gangs would be the Hells Angels, Sons of Silence, and the Sons of Anarchy, (SOA is actually a biker gang not just a TV show.) The Cartels are usually associated with drug lords south of the border of the United States, their whole group's purpose is to take the drugs and weapons from their affiliated drug lord from their original country and illegally transport the drugs and weapons to the United States, (most commonly), to sell and distribute around the country. Although the cartels are mostly known for drug trafficking, they are also known for their strict, re enforced, and savage way of handling business. The cartel will do almost anything to enforce their superiority and strength to scare anyone off who will come against them. The Cartels have been known kill people for torturing people, brutally killing people, and killing the families of people that stood against them, threatened them, even just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time or even crossing the border using their tunnels without their permission. Some of the most famous cartels are The Guadalajara Cartel, The Sinaloa Cartel, The Tijuana Cartel, The Juárez Cartel, and The Gulf Cartel. Many of the Cartels have many different gangs that they do business transactions with, those gangs are from biker gangs, Mexican/Latino gangs, hoodlum gangs, and many others. The cartels affect on society is very negative and because of them, they are one of the main reasons for the many drugs in America. Street gangs are one of the most famous and popular style of gangs there are today.
They run with the pop-culture look, living in the hood/ghetto and promote the life of being a thug. The gangs are mostly divided up into categories of areas (west side, east side, street,) race (African American, Mexican, Latino,) family affiliation (dad, brothers, uncles,) and many other factors. These gangs have even become a problem inside of the school environment where many gangs are even starting out in school. They are known for their over sized clothes, expensive shoes, sagging of the pans, rap music, guns and knives, drugs (especially marijuana) and having the attitude of a hoodlum gangster. There are many of these gangs around the United States, there are a few that are actually nationwide though for example the Bloods, the crips, the saints, black disciples, the latin kings and many more. The street gang’s effect on society has brought our culture to a whole new page of style of clothing, music, attitude, and way of life for many Americans. Besides the influence of violence and drugs among society, many people that aren’t apart of a gang even have been influenced by their
culture.