Major Events of The 1920s
1925: The Tribune Tower was completed on Michigan Avenue. The building's large Gothic entrance contains pieces of stone from other famous buildings: Westminster Abbey, Cologne Cathedral, the Alamo, the Taj Mahal, the Great Pyramid, and the Arc de Triomphe
1926 William Wrigley bought Weeghman Park and named it Wrigley Field.
1927: Originally called the Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport opened. It was renamed in 1949 to honor the Battle of Midway in World War II. Midway was the world's busiest airport until 1959.
1926 William Wrigley bought Weeghman Park and named it Wrigley Field.
1927: Originally called the Chicago Municipal Airport, Chicago Midway International Airport opened. It was renamed in 1949 to honor the Battle of Midway in World War II. Midway was the world's busiest airport until 1959.
1929: February 14, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre
It is claimed that Al Capone gave the order to McGurn and his cohorts from the Circus gang to set up a trap for the North Siders. This was also a good oppurtunity to get rid of the Gusenberg brothers who earlier tried to murder McGurn. It was February 14, 1929, as 7 men were found slaughtered in a garage on the North Side of Chicago. Amongst the 7 men were both the Gusenberg brothers. The main target, Bugs Moran, however was not amongst the murdered men. The massacre soon reached newspapers all across the country. All Capone at the time of the massacre was in Florida, so he had a alibi (although he was immediatly seen as the leading figure in the massacre). But also McGurn had an alibi by the name of Louise Rolfe (1906-1995), who would become infamous as the Bonde Alibi. She claimed they were at the Stevens Hotel, making some valentine's love all day. The police nonetheless charged him with 7 counts of murder. He beat those charges by marrying Louise, thus avoiding her to testify against him. Before he married Louise he was allready married for 7 years with a woman named Helen. He divorced her just days before marrying Louise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwVgfggbDFU
It is claimed that Al Capone gave the order to McGurn and his cohorts from the Circus gang to set up a trap for the North Siders. This was also a good oppurtunity to get rid of the Gusenberg brothers who earlier tried to murder McGurn. It was February 14, 1929, as 7 men were found slaughtered in a garage on the North Side of Chicago. Amongst the 7 men were both the Gusenberg brothers. The main target, Bugs Moran, however was not amongst the murdered men. The massacre soon reached newspapers all across the country. All Capone at the time of the massacre was in Florida, so he had a alibi (although he was immediatly seen as the leading figure in the massacre). But also McGurn had an alibi by the name of Louise Rolfe (1906-1995), who would become infamous as the Bonde Alibi. She claimed they were at the Stevens Hotel, making some valentine's love all day. The police nonetheless charged him with 7 counts of murder. He beat those charges by marrying Louise, thus avoiding her to testify against him. Before he married Louise he was allready married for 7 years with a woman named Helen. He divorced her just days before marrying Louise.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwVgfggbDFU
Prohibition Act:
1920s’ Prohibition, restriction of the production, sale, transportation, importation, and exportation of alcoholic beverages, began when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect on January 16, 1920. The Volstead Act, popular name for the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, had been passed on October 28, 1919. Enacted to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment, which was ratified on January 16, 1919, the Volstead Act superceded existing prohibition legislation in 33 states. The Anti-Saloon League, the strong prohibition lobby group, was instrumental in securing the bill’s passage over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Founded in Oberlin, Ohio by evangelical Protestant men in 1893, the Anti-Saloon League organized nationally in 1895.
Enforcement of 1920s' Prohibition was a formidable task. Bootleggers and rum runners (smugglers crossing a state border) were plentiful. Criminal elements organized because of the large profits in bootlegging. Much of the population had contempt for law enforcement during 1920s' Prohibition. Chicago’s Al Capone and his organization were considered glamorous figures; supposedly, half the city’s police were on their payroll.
1920s’ Prohibition, restriction of the production, sale, transportation, importation, and exportation of alcoholic beverages, began when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution went into effect on January 16, 1920. The Volstead Act, popular name for the National Prohibition Enforcement Act, had been passed on October 28, 1919. Enacted to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment, which was ratified on January 16, 1919, the Volstead Act superceded existing prohibition legislation in 33 states. The Anti-Saloon League, the strong prohibition lobby group, was instrumental in securing the bill’s passage over President Woodrow Wilson’s veto. Founded in Oberlin, Ohio by evangelical Protestant men in 1893, the Anti-Saloon League organized nationally in 1895.
Enforcement of 1920s' Prohibition was a formidable task. Bootleggers and rum runners (smugglers crossing a state border) were plentiful. Criminal elements organized because of the large profits in bootlegging. Much of the population had contempt for law enforcement during 1920s' Prohibition. Chicago’s Al Capone and his organization were considered glamorous figures; supposedly, half the city’s police were on their payroll.
Economy:
Business and Chicago have been inextricably bound since the city's beginnings in the early nineteenth century. Although there is no truth to the story that Chicago isPotawatomi for “let's make a deal,” economic and business concerns have not merely shaped but determined Chicago's destiny for almost two hundred years. After an initial period of settlement and environmental/economic accommodation, the city entered into a remarkable phase of economic expansion between about 1850 and 1930. Chicago's economic performance since that time has been less impressive, but the city, having adjusted to a series of economic shocks and dislocations in the 1970s and 1980s, remains the most important economic and business center in the interior of the United States. Indeed, with its increasingly diversified economy, metropolitan Chicago appears well poised to continue as the economic powerhouse, if not the growth engine, for the greater Midwest.
Business and Chicago have been inextricably bound since the city's beginnings in the early nineteenth century. Although there is no truth to the story that Chicago isPotawatomi for “let's make a deal,” economic and business concerns have not merely shaped but determined Chicago's destiny for almost two hundred years. After an initial period of settlement and environmental/economic accommodation, the city entered into a remarkable phase of economic expansion between about 1850 and 1930. Chicago's economic performance since that time has been less impressive, but the city, having adjusted to a series of economic shocks and dislocations in the 1970s and 1980s, remains the most important economic and business center in the interior of the United States. Indeed, with its increasingly diversified economy, metropolitan Chicago appears well poised to continue as the economic powerhouse, if not the growth engine, for the greater Midwest.