AP+P2+2014-15+Irish+Mob

The Irish mob is one of the many northeast organized syndicates that dominated old and notorious American cities like New York City and Boston. This mob, like many of its counterparts, was originally organized to protect immigrants of the same national background from racial groups well founded in the United States. According to the article “Organized Crime”, “The protector role reached the United States in the early 20th century, where newly arrived Italian immigrants frequently knew no English and clustered in the same neighborhoods. . . Somefeared that they could not depend on the frequently crooked and intolerant local police for protection, and resorted to the mafiosi instead” (1). Although the article chiefly explains the reasoning behind the rise of the Italian Mafia, the growth of the Irish mob is linked to the same reason. In the early 20th century, Irish immigrants were forced to form tight knit communities in areas such as South Boston and New York because of the physical and cultural threat induced by racial groups with strong existing establishments. In the face of disdain towards their community, the Irish mob would arise as Irish immigrants would turn to the organization for protection. Irish immigrants felt pressured to place their faith and trust in the mob because they believed that the local police were predisposed to be pitted against the Irish community. Then, in the 1930s and 1940s the Irish mob would begin to show significant strength as the Irish community became a well established body and became essentially intertwined with the syndicate. As the Irish community progressed through the following eras, the Irish mob would change, adapt, and become more violent as civil wars shook and toppled the mob’s leadership. However, despite the regular alterations, the mob would become a powerful and seemingly untouchable unit of organized crime as the firm Irish neighborhoods of South Boston and New York kept a strict code of secrecy and maintained an untainted Irish culture. Until the fall of Whitey Bulger, the Irish mob would remain one of the greatest and communicative organized crime syndicates to leave its mark on the east coast of America.
 * Christian Jennings: Historical** [[image:ravenseniors/images-2.jpg]]

Works Cited:
“Organized Crime.” //United States History//. Online Highways LLC, n.d. Web. 3 Nov. 2014. Lavoie, Denise. “South Boston No Longer Rough Southie of Whitey Bulger’s Earlier Years.” //Huffington Post//, 6 Oct 2014. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Much like how the Godfather movies helped shift Italian cultural views in America, //All Souls// shifted the way Irish culture is viewed. The aim of describing the Irish mob in this novel will help to show the reader what it was like during Boston in the 60’s and how it has transformed the present culture today as well. Using the deep tragedies caused from the Irish mob will help to induce an emotional response towards the reader and make them feel compassion towards the people in the novel. The most consistent green word for this term would be “Irish” because it is the heritage being focused on during that time and helps to illustrate the traits of those who are part of the mob. MacDonald absolutely achieves this emotional response by using the Irish mob which is proven by the many comments and critics of those who have read the novel. Nancy Barile says, “Teens are able to experience firsthand the school busing riots, the reign of mobster Whitey Bulger over the residents of Southie, as well as the fierce loyalty and dedication that Southie residents and families have for one another, which often results in a damaging ‘code of silence’” (Barile 1). The “code of silence” is directly referencing to the Irish mob during this novel which shows the explicit message in the novel. This book helped to aid how America was impacted due to the Irish mob, during that time and how today, they will be remembered vividly for the events that occurred during MacDonald’s story. In conclusion, causing an impact on the views of Irish culture in America is what MacDonald aimed to do when writing this novel.
 * Alexis: Aim **

Works Cited:
Barile, Nancy. "ALL SOULS & the Theme of Resilience." Scholastic Teachers. 20 Sept. 2010. Web. 4 Nov. 2014. Smith, Lynn. "Fighting Irish." Los Angeles Times. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.

Katherina: Audience

The Irish mob is one of the oldest organized crime groups in the United States. They have been present in America since the late 1800’s to even the 1970’s and beyond. The Irish Mob has been affluent in many New England city slums, originating in Boston and branching off to neighboring cities like New York City. Some of the most notorious Irish Mob leaders have been Whitney Bulger, Howie Winter, Raymon Patriarca, and Jerry Anguilo. A main feature of the Irish mob is the ties surrounding Irish tradition and culture, and mostly its’ seclusion to these cultural ideals. These men terrorized the streets of Boston and were known for horse-racing fraud, murder, prostitution, boot-legging, etc. In an interview of Mark Silverman’s book, Rogue Mobster, he states that the Irish Mob, “they are an anachronism in the American underworld, and there’s a fascination with that” (Gorilla Convict 1). The Irish Mob War was centralized in the 1960’s, primarily between two dominant Irish-American groups: the Winter Hill gang and the Charlestown Mob. Allegedly, a leader of the Charlestown Mob had hit on a girlfriend of a Winter Hill Gang member, sparking a fight and later to a full-out war against the two group. In response to violence such as this, cities like New York City had special police units to indiscriminate beat gang members in the slums, “continuing the practice well into the 20th century” (Andrews 1). These mobs prevailed for years in Southern Boston, trying to gain power over other families in neighboring cities. Works Cited: "A Look Inside Boston's Organized Crime Underworld." Gorilla Convict. 22 July 2012. Web. 3 November 2014. Andrews, Evan. "7 Infamous Gangs of New York." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 04 June 2013. Web. 3 November 2014.



Austin: Cultural The irish mob has been around since the early 19th century in America, when it was first enacted in order to protect the irish from the harsh ways of the Italian and jewish mobsters that ran the streets and the underground of New York City. In the years since the mob has been around, there have been many different movies and depictions, of what the mob life was like, and the personalities of the mobsters and gang leaders. The media has distorted the view of what the mob life was like, what the Irish had to go through, and what the causes were for the actions they carried out. Last year, the Boston Mob boss, Whitey Bulger, received his final sentencing in court, for the crimes that were connected to him, when he was one of the most feared criminals in Boston, and one of the most wanted fugitives in America. “ They called him evil, a punk, a sociopath, a piece of trash, a coward, a miserable human, a disgrace to the Irish, a devil, a rat, a man for whom the electric chair would be too good,” (McMorrow). However, all the crime that he committed, was protected by a blanket from the FBI, which kept him safe while he carried whatever he felt was necessary. Over the years, there has been a facade, that has surrounded the mob, that it was all crime and corruption all over the country. “ A sordid past and an existence in almost every city across America has resulted in the Irish mob being the source of countless motion pictures,” (IrishCentral). Movies like, Departed, which is based on the corruption of the mob ran by Bulger and the crooked FBI agents that helped to cover his tracks, have defined, for America, what it means to come from Irish descent. The “evil” that has been portrayed as the Irish Mob, is what has stuck in the heads of americans everywhere and is now what is envisioned of irish immigrants. For the readers of the book, they go in, with already preconceived notions of what the mob is, and what irish life was like.

McMorrow, Paul. "Whitey Bulger, Vicious Ruler of a Long-Gone Boston, Sentenced to Life | TIME.com." //US Whitey Bulger Vicious Ruler of a LongGone Boston Sentenced to Life Comments //. TIME, 14 Nov. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

"The Top 10 Irish Mobster Movies." //IrishCentral //. Irish Central, n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.