The Great Depression was a time of not only job loss and money loss, but it was also a time of violence. Many middle class Americans had never experienced poverty before, so they didn't know how to deal with it during the depression. Some turned to riots and robberies. If the people of America felt the the government had made an unpopular or unjust law, then the people would turn to the outlaws and criminals to change the law. Because the people all
trusted criminals and outlaws more than they trusted the government, it changed the reputation of a criminal from evil to hero. One example of this is when a criminal robs a bank. For some people it is seen as a good thing and the criminal is seen as “Robin hood” because some people had lost money to the banks. This reflected what Robin Hood has done because he “stole from the rich and gave to the poor.” Throughout the Great Depression gangs had become more and more successful and some gangs even became wealthy. This was because ,during the Depression, President J. Edgar Hoover banned alcohol, which opened up a window for gangs to sell bootlegged alcohol. Gangs became more wealthy because of the president's decision.
By: Jagger