What is a Mobster?
The 1920's was a huge era for mobsters or as they are known today, gangsters. Some were very well known. For example, almost everyone is familiar with the name of Al Capone or Johnny Torrio. These were men that took over the idea of mobster. They took over cities and built huge and powerful empires of bootlegging. They fought off police or other gangs of mobsters almost every night. Everyone was afraid of mobsters because they usually had money and power; two things that if they are put in the wrong hands, can be a disaster. A disaster is just what happened when Chicago was fought for by many mobster gangs.
Thompson, the gun of the 1920's
In the 1920's, the thompson or tommy gun was the preferred gun for mobsters after it was made by John T. Thompson in 1919. It was really made famous when Al Capone and many other mobsters used it to murder, steal from banks, take over parts of Chicago, and fight against other enemy mobsters.