The social life of the 19th century, usually seen as a romantic and safe era, was in reality a chancy and hazardous time, filled with gangs, poor police, and a corrupt government. Many will argue that gangs and gangsters have little to no influence on our nation. This is an outrageous opinion that will be put to rest throughout this essay, for better or worse, these gangs were being heard. Every time you went out at night to a hot spot such as the Five Points in New York, you knew you were in danger. One of the primary reasons you would need to be careful, was the fact that these criminals didn’t have the revenue source which gangs have today, drugs. This left the only source of available income being; prostitution, assassinations, political favors, and the easiest way, mugging of ordinary citizens. Thus creating a perilous environment for anybody brave enough to take a stroll down gang banger alley. As a result, the 19th century which has long been viewed as a contented time, was in fact one of the most dangerous periods in America.
What made this era truly alarming, were the gangs and gangsters that ran the streets, and Wild West of America. The Butcher, Monk Eastman, Sadie the goat, Billy the Kid, the list goes on. All of these men, and women, were killers. Nothing fazed them. Knowing that a crazy cattle thief by the name of Billy the Kid whose killed a man for every year for that he has lived, could be outside of your house left farmers fairly fearful. Or perhaps being an immigrant fresh off the boat, hearing rumors that, “Bill the Butcher” is out looking for an Irish immigrant to gore with his always sharp butcher’s knife. Maybe your new in town and your getting a little too crazy at the saloon, Monk Eastman would gladly bash your brains in with his notorious wooden club. The point is, these people were crazy. And who was there to stop them? That brings me to my next point, the lack of Fire and Police Enforcement during the age.
The reason that these psychopathic killers were running rampant, and for the most part getting away with it, was the lack of Police and Fire Departments during the time. The Police force was split into two different groups the Metropolitan, and Municipal. The old Municipals were told by the Government that they were to be disbanded, and a new police force, The Metropolitan, would be taking over. This did not sit well with the Mayor, Fernando Wood, or with the old Municipal Police Force who didn’t want to lose their job. So, what happened? Two police forces were left neither knowing who had full jurisdiction of the city. This left constant battles between criminals, and the two police forces.