The Valentine's Day Massacre

February 14th 1929, Al Capone thought up an elaborate plan to carry out a surprise ambush on George "Bugs" Moran and his gang who had a hideout on the North Side on North Clark Street. The plan included three gunmen disguising themselves as policemen and would do a routine raid on Moran's shipment of their liquor-truck convoys at 10:30 A.M. Capone paid a sum of money to purchase a police vehicle as well to make it seem more realistic. Since Moran's gang knew most of Capone's gang, members of the "Purple Gang" of Detroit were hired to pose as the policemen. They would encounter 7 men when they entered the hideout, Albert Kashellek (Moran's brother-in-law), Adam Heyer (reputed to be the bookkeeper for the gang), John May and Reinhart Schwimmer (both minor gang figures), Pete and Frank Gusenberg (Moran's most dangerous gunmen), and Albert Weinshank (a speakeasy operator who bore a striking physical resemblance to Moran). However Moran was not there, but 3 blocks away having coffee at a diner. The fake policemen ordered the men to stand face to the wall and put their hands up, when they did Fred "Killer" Burke and a companion quietly entered the garage, and the hit team opened fire on the men with machine guns, a shotgun, and a .45 caliber revolver. It only took 30 seconds for all 7 men to be lying dead on the ground while Capone's men drove off in the police car. Al Capone and Burke were never prosecuted for this crime.

"St. Valentine's Day Massacre, February 14, 1929." DISCovering U.S. History. Detroit: Gale, 1997.Student Resources in Context. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.

It would fall under intolerance, because Al Capone did not believe in Moran’s views and beliefs on how he ran his gang and how he used the alcohol industry for business.

• “By 1929 competition had reduced the field to two main gangs: the South Side group, led by Al Capone , and the North Side, led by George “Bugs” Moran. Confrontations between the two groups were bloody.”  

"St. Valentine's Day Massacre." UXL Encyclopedia of U.S. History. Sonia Benson, Daniel E. Brannen, Jr., and Rebecca Valentine. Vol. 7. Detroit: UXL, 2009. 1470-1471. Student Resources in Context. Web. 1 Oct. 2015.

Mike Grimm and Dean Garland