Alcatraz Essay - 1246 Words

As the cold waters rush into the San Francisco Bay, they crash up against an island standing in the strait. This rock is hidden by the fog and isolated by the chilling waters of the Pacific that flow in and out every day. It has a gloom that hangs about its rocky face most know it as Alcatraz but the men who experienced this island, referred to her as â€Å"The Rock†. To the men confined there, it is not only the ultimate in isolation but the most ironic because they are there in the midst of the activity of a busy harbor with small craft darting to and from San Francisco, Oakland, Alameda, Berkeley, Richmond, and Sausalito; within sound of the honking horns of a ceaseless procession of automobiles crossing the bridges; within sight of ocean†¦show more content†¦Because of the passing of the Volstead Act in 1920, production and distribution of alcohol became an extremely profitable business. With this also came a noticeable rise in organized crime in many of the big c ities. Even worse, the crimes committed by members of these gangs became more violent. Soon prisons were overcrowded and were merely hold facilities. No correction was in mind for these prisoners. Convicts filled the empty hours with talk, mostly about the crimes they had committed and ways they could beat the law. Drug addicts and other petty offenders were mixed with killers and robbers. Young felons, who had taken to crime for no more than sheer pleasure or pride on a dare, came out of prison with no job skills but with plenty of advice from more experienced criminals. In 1933, J. Edgar Hoover was made the director of the recently established FBI agency. Hoover had plans to crack down on these criminals. The problem Hoover faced was that, no sooner were the criminals locked up than the crime organizations would bust them out. With this major problem in mind, the Justice Department began looking into a maximum-security prison that was not easy to access and therefore inescapable. When they came across Alcatraz, it was almost too good to be true. By April of 1934, work began on Alcatraz to make the current cell house more secure by replacing soft iron square bars on the cells with new,Show MoreRelatedalcatraz779 Words   |  4 Pages An icon of power and strength, Alcatraz has become the single most recognizable symbol of American society. Situated in the San Francisco Bay, one can’t help but be drawn to the rocky shore, the dark walls, and the lone light tower sanding cold against a picturesque sunset imagining what it would have been like to be incarcerated in one of the world’s most infamous prisons. Discovered in 1775 by the Spanish explorer Juan Miguel de Ayala, La Isla de los Alcatraces was little more than a rockRead More Alcatraz Essay903 Words   |  4 Pages Alcatraz: United States Penitentiary 1934-1963 As a result of the Great Depression, a new breed of violent criminals swept the streets of America. In response to the cries of alarmed citizens, Congress enacted a number of statutes, which gave the federal government jurisdiction over certain criminal offenses previously held by the states. With the suggestion of former US Attorney General, Homes Cummings, Congress agreed that a special penal institution of maximum security and minimum privilegeRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz1081 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topicRead MoreInformative Speech on Alcatraz1097 Words   |  5 PagesPurpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the storiesRead MoreAlcatraz Island: A Brief History1608 Words   |  7 Pagesofficers (Mahaney, Erin. History and Facts about Alcatraz. About.com). Closing The Great Depression of the 1930s resulted in the already pricey expenses to run the army barracks to almost double. The current prisoners were departed to other prisons in Kansas and New Jersey. In 1933, the Army deserted the prison.\ Alcatraz would continue as a prison for more than 100 years, but just under a different control†¦ Federal Penitentiary Establishing Alcatraz was obtained by the federal bureau of prisonsRead MoreThe Birdman Of Alcatraz, By Aka Robert Stroud934 Words   |  4 PagesWhile you may have heard of, â€Å"The Birdman of Alcatraz,† aka Robert Stroud, another popular Alcatraz inmate. He was probably the most famous inmate to reside on Alcatraz. In 1909, Stroud brutally murdered a bartender when he failed to pay the girl Stroud was pimping for. He shot the bartender to death and took the wallet for the prostitute. Stroud was convicted of manslaughter and sent to McNeil Island in 1911. At McNeil Island, he was noted to be violent and difficult to manage. Robert StroudRead More The History of Alcatraz Island Essay4099 Words   |  17 PagesThe History of Alcatraz Island Alcatraz Island has quite a distinct history. Many people know that Alcatraz served as a federal prison, but most are reluctant to know that this island served as fort. Built before the Civil War, it served two main purposes. First, that it was to guard the San Francisco bay area from enemy ships against a foreign invasion, and second, to hold hostage prisoners of war or POWs as they were called. In this report, Ill show you how this fortress came to be a federalRead MoreAlcatraz as a Tourist Attraction Essay3109 Words   |  13 Pagestwenty-two acres of solid granite surrounded by a fast moving sea of icy waters. Your name is Al Capone, and youve been sentenced to carry out the last nine years of your eleven-year sentence at the most infamous prison in U.S. History, The Rock. Alcatraz is no longer a federal penitentiary, nor does it house any inmates. Instead, it has become a tourist attraction that allows hundreds of people a day the opportunity to experience what time served may have felt like at The Rock. The island sitsRead MoreThe History of Alcatraz789 Words   |  3 PagesLife on Alcatraz Prison was not as bad as the people described it to be. For the prisoners Living on Alcatraz was similar to life on other American penitentiaries of the era. It wasn’t the brutal hellhole many movies made it look like it was. Each prisoner swept his cell clean, dressed, and then stood ready for head count. Then all marches to the mess hall for break feast before moving on to work out in the docks in the laundry area, or out in any of the other buildings in the island. The food onRead MoreInformative Speech Outline on Alcatraz Essay1090 Words   |  5 Pages* Alcatraz Informative Speech Outline General Purpose: To inform the class Specific Purpose: To describe to the audience a brief history of Alcatraz. Thesis: Alcatraz has been a popular social topic because of the mystery that surrounds it and the stories exaggerated in movies and television shows. INTRODUCTION I. If you disobey the rules of society, they send you to prison; if you disobey the rules of the prison, they send you to Alcatraz. II. Alcatraz has been a popular social topic