History and Background of Crime and Poverty:
By Dylan Hert
How does poverty lead to crime and how do we see those aspects in the past?
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Poverty is and always will be a problem, but the real problem is the effects of poverty that lead to issues such as crime and violence and also how they relate to the Great Depression criminals who started because of poverty. Poverty leads to crime due for the desperate need to make ends meet either for personal needs or a while family. So the best way to approach the background of crime and poverty is to use real life examples of American criminals.
Americans have driven to crime from poverty:
John Dillinger
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Crime is usually common in any big city, but when poverty increases, it provokes a criminal to take control of a criminal enterprise. If we want to learn how poverty creates crime, we can note big time individuals in history that actually lived during this time period. So, the biggest criminal at the time was John Dillinger. In Legends of America.com, it says Dillinger started young in crime by deserting his navy post which sent him to jail for the first time. When he was released from jail due to parole, he struggled to find any employment in the thirties due to the Great Depression. Dillinger later resorted back to crime with robbing his first bank in Carlisle, Ohio in 1933 according to Legends of America.com. This shows that Dillinger was a minor criminal before the economic crisis. But when he was paroled in 1933, he had little to no chance of finding employment because the Great Depression had struck. So to make ends meet, Dillinger resorted to becoming public enemy #1 because poverty had forced him to the stages of crime.
Barker-Karpis Gang
Crime started before the depression but it intensified with Ma Barker and the Barker-Karpis Gang. The family lived in poverty throughout the 1900’s as they struggled to stay alive. When the stock market crashed, their state of poverty intensified as well as provoking the family to crime so they could make ends meet according to the Salem Press website. This shows that even though the family was already poor before the Depression, when the sons were making trouble it caused the family to suffer, and later when the Depression happened, the family including Ma Barker, shifted to the criminal side which is a factor and proof that poverty increases the risks of crime.
Bonnie and Clyde
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These certain types of American criminals were created just because poverty had provoked them to the criminal level. Another duo of crime which started because poverty was
Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde’s tale was the classical and crime filled story of the Great Depression. It first started with Clyde Barrow getting into minor crime troubles before the economical crisis and dragging Bonnie Parker into it. When the Depression happened, the two rebelled against the government and banks which started the crime and killing spree of the federal government. They were referred to as the Robin Hood and Maid Marian of the Depression. Clyde started crime because his family could not afford to keep the farm anymore so he resorted to crime so he could make ends meet. Bonnie met Clyde while helping for housework and she was left in poverty due to her past husband being involved in crime which prompted her and Clyde to meet according to an author named Danielle Van Dyk and also Mirror.com. A quote by Jeremy Jordan (an actor that portrayed Clyde in the musical adaption) said that “Bonnie and Clyde grew up in absolute poverty. They didn't go to school or have any money; the only way they could figure out how to get ahead was to steal. The banks were foreclosing on everyone's homes. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that struggle” which was found on Brainyquote.com. This shows that Bonnie and Clyde were in poverty and could not stand it so to make ends meet, they resorted to crime to survive until the government caught up with them.
Bonnie and Clyde. Bonnie and Clyde’s tale was the classical and crime filled story of the Great Depression. It first started with Clyde Barrow getting into minor crime troubles before the economical crisis and dragging Bonnie Parker into it. When the Depression happened, the two rebelled against the government and banks which started the crime and killing spree of the federal government. They were referred to as the Robin Hood and Maid Marian of the Depression. Clyde started crime because his family could not afford to keep the farm anymore so he resorted to crime so he could make ends meet. Bonnie met Clyde while helping for housework and she was left in poverty due to her past husband being involved in crime which prompted her and Clyde to meet according to an author named Danielle Van Dyk and also Mirror.com. A quote by Jeremy Jordan (an actor that portrayed Clyde in the musical adaption) said that “Bonnie and Clyde grew up in absolute poverty. They didn't go to school or have any money; the only way they could figure out how to get ahead was to steal. The banks were foreclosing on everyone's homes. I think a lot of people will be able to relate to that struggle” which was found on Brainyquote.com. This shows that Bonnie and Clyde were in poverty and could not stand it so to make ends meet, they resorted to crime to survive until the government caught up with them.
COnclusion:
Over the three different cases of American criminals, it shows that all of these criminals began their start to crime was because of the natural tendency like John Dillinger as he was starting over, and made people like him return to crime because of the unbearable conditions of poverty that the Barkers went through. All of their stories prove and show that certain poverty leads to crime and drives those who are in need from unbearable conditions to the stage of crime.
Works Cited
Weiser, Kathy. "20th Century America John Dillinger - Public Enemy Number 1." Legends of America. Legends of America.com, n.d. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.legendsofamerica.com/20th-johndillinger.html>.
"Gallery: Depression-Era Desperadoes: Ma Barker." PBS. PBS.org. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dillinger/gallery/gal_dillinger_01.html>.
"American Villains: Ma Barker." Salem Press. EBSCO Publishing, n.d. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://salempress.com/store/samples/american_villains/american_villains_barker.htm>.
Van Dyk, Danielle . "Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow."Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. N.p.. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.chromehorse.net/misc/family/bonnie.htm>.
Jordan, Jeremy. "Bonny and Clyde - Jeremy Jordan."Brainyquote. BookRags Media Network . Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/j/jeremyjord529233.html>.
McPhee, Rod. "Real Bonnie & Clyde: Has history been too harsh on her role in the infamous killer couple?."Mirror News. Mirror.com, 31 Aug 2013. Web. 11 Feb 2014. <http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/real-life-stories/real-bonnie-clyde-history-been-2239712>.