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Gangs are a violent reality that people have to deal with in today's cities. What has made these groups come about? Why do kids feel that being in a gang is both an acceptable and prestigious way to live? The long-range answer to these questions can only be speculated upon, but in the short term the answers are much easier to find. On the surface, gangs are a direct result of human beings' personal wants and peer pressure. To determine how to effectively end gang violence we must find the way that these morals are given to the individual. Unfortunately, these can only be hypothesized. However, by looking at the way humans are influenced in society, I believe there is good evidence to point the blame at several institutions. These include the forces of the media, the government, theatre, drugs and our economic system. Originally the word gang had no negative connotation. In Old English, gang simply referred to a "number of people who went around together-a group." Today a gang can be defined in four basic ways: „h an organized group with a leader „h a unified group that usually remains together during peaceful times as well as times of conflict „h a group whose members show unity through clothing, language „h a group whose activities are criminal or threatening to the larger society. Gangs are one of the results of poverty, discrimination and urban deterioration. Some experts believe that young people, undereducated and without access to good jobs, become frustrated with their lives and join gangs as an alternative to boredom, hopelessness and devastating poverty. Studies have attempted to determine why gangs plague some communities but there has been no definitive answer. As a result, people working to solve gang problems have great difficulty. They find the situation overwhelming, and the violence continues. No groups completely fitting the above description of gangs existed in America until the early 1800s, but from the beginning of the European settlement in America there was gang-like activity, especially when class distinctions came into being. Gang members tended to be from the poorer classes and tended to be from the same race or ethnic background. They banded together for protection, recreation or financial gain. The earliest identified American gangs formed after the Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783. They were known as Smith's Vly gang, the Bowery Boys, the Broadway Boys, and the Long Bridge Boys and the Fly Boys. The first three were white and the last two were African-American. Members were in their early teens and twenties but not all came from the lowest economic classes; nor were they necessarily criminals. It was not until the 19th century that "criminal" gangs first formed. As the result of a worsening economy and growing population that increased competition for jobs, gangs began to specialize in crime and became a part of America's cities. Irish immigrants formed the first American criminal gangs in New York City. Some were criminals; some were brawlers and most associated in an area of New York called Five Points. They had dress codes and called their members by code nicknames. (Many of the gang rituals of today have their roots in this period.) The first Irish gang to have a recognized leader was the Forty Thieves, organized by Edward Coleman in 1826. Gangs also arose in the Bowery. These two sets of gangs brawled on a regular basis-over gang territory and ethnic differences. Sometimes the battles were so long and intense that the army had to be called in to stop them. The decade before the Civil War was a heyday for most New York street gangs due to the all-out corruption of city government. Gang membership swelled. Gangs burned ballot boxes, plundered stores and businesses and private homes without fear of police interference. After the Civil War in 1865 New York records indicate a presence of Jewish, Italian, African-American and Irish gangs. With the increase in immigrant populations, so grew gang membership. Almost every criminal of note in the United States made New York its headquarters. Chinese gangs appeared in California in the mid-1800s. Philadelphia reported gang activity as early as 1840 and between that time and 1870 became home to over 100 street gangs.
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