The Boardwalk Empire: Prohibition and the Rise of Organized Crime in early 20th century America

The thesis discusses Prohibition in the United States of America during the 1920's and the acclaimed HBO TV series Boardwalk Empire which is also set during this period. It focuses on the main consequence of Prohibition, which is the rise of Organized Crime. Boardwalk Empire recreates the life of one of the most influential gangsters of the Prohibition era, Enoch Nucky Johnson. In the first chapter of my thesis I analyze all the factors which led to Prohibition. I start by discussing the Temperance movement from its origins in order to see how it succeeded to gain so much power and influence in defeating the alcohol industry by passing the federal legislation banning alcohol in 1919. I then illustrate the bitter consequence derived from the ban on alcohol, the rise of organized crime. As a result of the ¿noble experiment¿ undertaken by the government, organized crime flourished by continuing to supply the demand of alcohol among American citizens. Because Boardwalk Empire is set in Atlantic City I also analyze the so-called "World's Playground¿ as well as the most popular symbol of crime in those years, Al Capone, the man who revolutionized organized crime. The second chapter of my thesis is focused on Boardwalk Empire, as well as on the novel which inspired it, Nelson Johnson's Boardwalk Empire: The Birth, High Times, and Corruption of Atlantic City. I analyze its key protagonists of the TV drama's first season, trying to place them in the context of their real life counterparts as they evolve during Prohibition.