Podcast recorded on Thursday, 5 pm, in the library. A. Irving will edit and submit the podcast. K. Cheng has written this final blog post.
At first glance, the St. Valentine's Day Massacre was the result of intense gang rivalries in Chicago over alcohol bootlegging during the Prohibition era. Before the discovery of seven corpses in a single location, the American public tolerated gang-on-gang violence as long as they could have their beer, wine, and liquor. The police force, meanwhile, was corrupt and turned a blind eye to the illegal activity in exchange for bribes. Prohibition enriched Al Capone's South Side gang and Bugs Moran's North Side gang and led to a power struggle in which times of peace were few and far between, much like how the war on drugs in modern times leads to gang turf wars in modern urban areas.
Seven members of Bugs Moran's gang gathered near a garage on February 14, 1929, all looking their best. At 10:30 am, a police car drove up to the garage. Four or five men got out, two wearing police uniforms and the others carrying two machine guns. A brief spray of bullets mangled the seven gangsters, and the murderers got back into the police car and drove away. When investigators arrived on the scene, the only lead they could get was from Frank Gusenberg, one of the victims, who uttered the phrase, "Cops did it," before demanding to be sent to the hospital.
Despite the efforts of local police force and the FBI, the mystery of who killed the seven still remains today. The federal government wanted to pin the blame on Capone, but they could not find any solid evidence to condemn him with. The machine guns used in the murders were found in the possession of Fred Burke, but he was neither charged with nor questioned about the massacre. The most recent theory that has been debunked was that William White, one of Chicago's most vicious criminals, killed Moran's men to get revenge on Moran for killing his cousin. The mystery may never be solved, but the massacre was able to indicate to the American people that Prohibition had been too much, and the event was a catalyst for social progress.
To Andrea and Kerry
ReplyDeleteGreat introduction to the podcast. It was cool to hear an intro that sounded like a real podcast. Though the intro was a little morbid, it totally fit the theme of the massacre. In addition the background that was added to give a look on "organized crime" and how smuggling alcohol was prevalent was very interesting. The struggle between the north and the south side throughout the podcast was great. By creating this division, the podcast was really cool and kept me interested as a listener. The addition of the films that were inspired by the massacre through recommendation kept the podcast original and unique as well.
However, there were some parts where the sound quality was a little out of whack and seemed a little out of place. More interaction between the podcasters would have been preferred to add an addition to the podcast. The interaction that was included was relevant and did coincide.
Overall, great job guys!
I enjoyed listening to your podcast about the St. Valentine's day massacre.
Grace
Noah is having some technical difficulties so I'm posting his comment for him.
ReplyDeleteHere's Noah's comment:
I really liked how you covered the event, following it chronologically and getting at all of the (sometimes gruesome) details. I also really enjoyed how you discussed the government's reaction to the event and the competing theories about what actually happened.
I did want a little bit more of a backstory on how the gang war escalated so quickly, but I realize there was limited time. I also could have used a bit more back and forth between the two of you, instead of the short question to lead into the long answer. I realize you two probably researched different things, but it might have been better to split up the time you were speaking throughout the entire podcast, instead of going for half of the time and then switching to the other person.
It was a very good, very informative podcast, and I took away a lot of new information.
Good Job!
Noah L.
Your podcast was very informative and I really liked how you gave a lot of background information and different ideas and theories about who perpetrated the massacre. From your podcast, I learned a lot about the massacre, prohibition, and Chicago in the 1920s. I also liked that you told listeners about outside information, such as movies, that they could consult to learn more about the massacre.
ReplyDeleteOne thing you might have included more is the conflict between Chicago's different gangs and corruption in the police force. You also seemed to have a few small technical errors, such as the podcast cutting off at the end. However, overall, your podcast was great and I really enjoyed learning more about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre and the era of Prohibition!
Danielle Doucette