Weren't the first gangsters white?

Answer 1

Yes, that is correct!

What would evolve into modern American organized crime began as Irish and German immigrant gangs in what is now New York City in the 1830's. Irish gangs had their roots in what is now the Borough of Manhattan and German gangs robbed trains and stagecoaches in what is now the Borough of Queens.

The Irish eclipsed the Germans by the beginning of the 20th century - and Irish gangsters also expanded out to Chicago and Boston.

They in turn were displaced by Jewish and Italian gangsters after World War I. The Jewish gangsters also expanded beyond New York too - in particular, they put down roots in Detroit and Chicago. The Irish did remain the dominant gangsters in the Boston area, a status they hold to this very day.

The Jewish gangsters were in turn pushed aside by Italian American organized crime - also known as "cosa nostra" ("this thing of ours" in the Sicilian dialect of Italian) and more commonly known as the Mafia.

Cosa nostra built a truly national organized crime network - at it's peak including 5 "families" in New York City, and families in Providence, RI, Buffalo, NY, Cleveland, Youngstown, OH, Detroit, Chicago (Al Capone's "outfit" - by far the largest mafia family), Miami, New Orleans, St Louis, Kansas City and Los Angeles.

After World War II, White veterans of the US Army who had turned to crime built so called "Motorcycle Clubs" like the Hells Angels. They put down roots all over the country, but their main base of operations is in the Far West, where they were the dominant criminal gangs for many years.

Cosa nostra has been in decline in recent years, thanks to massive attacks on them by federal, state and local law enforcement.

They've also begun to be displaced by White supremacist drug dealing gangs that had their origins in the prison system - like the Aryan Brotherhood, Nazi Low Riders and Public Enemy # 1. These gangs are major players in drug dealing, particularly in the manufacturing and distribution of "crank" (methamphetamines).

So yes, the first gangsters were White - and Whites are still the main gangsters in this country.

Answer 2

In the early 20th Century, gangsters were organized crime. The first wave of organized crime came in 1900; Johnny Torrio, leader of the Five Points Gang, and the Black Hand, a lower east side Manhattan Sicilian Mafia gang, created a national syndicate of approximately 25 Italian crime families known as La Cosa Nostra, meaning "this thing of ours", or the Mob or Mafia. Gambino, Columbo, Lucchese, Bonnano, and Genovese, the 5 most powerful families were the founding godfathers.

Answer 3

Gangsters have always existed but the term gangster started being used describing the Dillinger Gang.

Answer 4

i guess you could say the most notorious american gangsters were white, of european descent. someone here implied that italians aren't white...i don't know why. because they aren't WASPs? so i guess stallone and deniro aren't white guys now. go figure.

but i digress.

i agree with the person before me who said that there are bad guys in every culture. so in a sense, the FIRST gangsters were not white. every group has its wayward members that try to mess things up so that they can control things.

bush and cheney suddenly come to mind.....

Answer 5

I don't know about other countries but in the US organized crime did indeed begin with gangsters in white community.

Answer 6

The Vandals, medieval town trashers in Europe. Every society, every culture has its share of bad guys. Since they are usually cowards they gang together to make themselves feel stronger. Been happening for centuries all over the world.

Answer 7

If you mean the irish and italian mobs, then yes. Both the Irish and the Italians are white. So I guess if you are really an OG then you are a white guy.

Answer 8

nope Italian.
al Capone is Italian.
mobsters were the first gangsters.
but then black people picked up on it
then Hispanics
and then Compton was born
hahah j/k
i live in south central la
so i see different gangs everyday
i think it's retarded.
i get looked at like i should die
if i wear blue and red together
and not because it doesn't match.
so yeah gangs are stupid
but the first gangsters were Italian

Answer 9

Yes.

Most true Gansters still are. But that doesn';t mean that gangs of anyone can't be made. Most small gangs just fight eachother and never control anything useful.

Answer 10

eminem isn't gangsta.. no.. he replaced into basically raised in a trailer park and is a rapper.. basically because of the fact somebody grows up in a low income community doesnt cause them to gangsta.. trailer park ? initiatives