In part one of this trilogy we explored the origins of modern America through the lens of HBO's Deadwood, a series chronicling the rise, growth, and ultimate fate of a small mining town on America's western frontier following the civil war. Deadwood gives us an idea of the ambition, determination, and in many cases corruption of the people that laid the foundation for the country we inhabit today. In this installment, we’ll use HBO’s Boardwalk Empire to explore the megastructures that would rise from that foundation.
Every Land
By the 1920's, America was experiencing an era of prosperity and advancement that was unprecedented in the country's history. While America had been involved in the first world war, it had suffered only a fraction of the death and destruction endured by its European counterparts. Economically and politically, America had established itself as a world power and the country was reveling in the good times.
Of course, reveling is usually much more fun after a few drinks, which began to create a problem. Over the previous decades, widespread alcoholism had become increasingly harmful to the social fabric. The dysfunction caused by this drinking culture led to the creation of grassroots temperance organizations across the country. The primary goal of this movement was to criminalize the sale and consumption of alcohol at the federal level.
The temperance movement gradually gained steam and eventually achieved their goal. In 1920 congress amended the constitution and passed the Volstead Act, establishing a nationwide ban on alcohol.
A Man, A Plan...
Anyone familiar with the modern drug wars could predict the immediate result of this legislation. No sooner than the new laws were ratified, a flood of illegal liquor washed over every street in the country. What prohibitionists failed to foresee was that when there is enough demand for something, suppliers will always step up to fill that demand. Imposing stiff punishments on the suppliers only ensured that the most reckless, unstable, and violent people would be willing to take on the risk.
Boardwalk Empire is the story of many of the infamous criminal figures of that era as they attempt to forge empires for themselves in the chaos of the prohibition era. The central figure of the series is bootlegger Enoch “Nucky” Thompson of Atlantic City, New Jersey. The show also follows the stories of many now legendary gangsters like Arnold Rothstein, Meyer Lansky, Lucky Luciano, and Al Capone at the outset of their now legendary criminal careers.
Nucky
In 1920, Nucky Thompson is the treasurer of Atlantic City. From this unremarkable elected office, Nucky directs the criminal operations of the city.
When the Volstead Act passes, Nucky stands ready to make a fortune providing illicit liquor to the people of his city. Prohibition has injected rocket fuel into what was once a relatively low-level political grifting operation. Fixing bids on public works contracts and shaking down local businesses pales in comparison to the tidal wave of cash coming his way from illegal alcohol sales.
Atlantic City is prime real estate for bootlegging. Control of a port city situated directly between New York and Philadelphia makes for a simple and lucrative operation. Nucky is well aware of the value of his territory, if only he can hold onto it.
Van Alden
Who would be charged with enforcing this alcohol ban? To combat the legions of recently created criminals, an army of new federal officials is fielded at the outset of prohibition. These agents are entrusted with the impossible task of keeping liquor off of every street in America. While many prohibition agents are immediately bought off by the now wealthy bootleggers, some remain steadfast in their integrity. One such uncorrupted agent is Nelson Van Alden. Charged with overseeing the enforcement of prohibition law in Atlantic City, Van Alden is not susceptible to bribes or willing to offer any leniency for violators of the new law.
Van Alden's presence becomes a thorn in the side of Nucky's operation as he refuses to play ball, unlike virtually every other public servant.
Nelson Van Alden’s position gives him a front row seat to the brutality that governs this criminal underworld. One step behind the bootleggers at all times, his attempts to stem the tide of liquor in Atlantic City fail completely. Additionally, it becomes clear that the prohibition agents under his leadership are accepting bribes and in some cases actively working for the bootleggers. Van Alden begins to recognize that society views him and his mission as a joke. He struggles to suppress his anger and frustration.
Cracks start to form in Van Alden's facade of civility and righteousness. Angry outbursts and obsessive-compulsive behavior put a strain on his work, marriage, and personal relationships. He continues to spiral, and begins to lose control over the darker impulses of his psyche. Nelson’s breakdown finally culminates in a brutal act of violence.
In a fit of psychotic rage, Van Alden is overcome with religious fervor and murders a corrupt fellow agent.
The rage subsides soon after, but the deed is done. Agent Nelson Van Alden's integrity and sanity are no longer intact. The depths of those cracks in his facade have proven much deeper than even he understood.
Van Alden is overwhelmed by guilt and anxiety. Despondent, he visits a speakeasy. The prohibition agent hesitates for a moment at his own hypocrisy, and then begins drinking to ease his nerves.
Also drinking at the speakeasy is a young actress named Lucy Danziger. Lucy has just ended a relationship with Nucky Thompson. Van Alden offers to buy her a drink, and they connect through their shared contempt for Thompson before heading back to Van Alden's place. Not long after, Lucy reveals to Van Alden that she is pregnant.
At the outset of prohibition, Van Alden was an unimpeachable source of authority and integrity. In short order, he has become a hypocrite, an adulterer and a murderer.
Adding insult to Van Alden’s injury, Lucy informs Nucky of her pregnancy, giving Thompson a source of blackmail against the prohibition agent. Nelson has now been compromised on all fronts. His actions show him to be no better than any of the criminals he has been sent to pursue. Van Alden, in his self-righteousness and arrogance, is actually far worse. The bootleggers are at least honest with themselves about what they are doing, but Van Alden hides his malice and violent nature behind the banner of justice, decency, and authority.
Van Alden is a perfect symbol of the hypocrisy of prohibition and a corrupt political system. He is self-righteous, self-congratulatory, hyper-judgmental and thoroughly morally bankrupt. His passion for justice is onlya pretense for his psychotic desire to exert control over others based on a delusional belief that he is inherently superior to the society he has been entrusted to serve.
Eli
Eli Thompson, Nucky's younger brother, serves as sheriff of Atlantic City. Eli is Nucky’s right hand man, but resents Nucky's paternal attitude toward him. Regardless of this internal animosity, the money and power offered by his position keeps him in his place.
Eli recognizes the compromising nature of the trade he finds himself in, but is unwilling to take responsibility for his moral failings. Eli rationalizes his role in the violence he facilitates as an unpleasant necessity which serves a higher purpose. His duty to support his wife and children, he tells himself, trumps any moral or ethical responsibility he has for his own involvement in this life of crime.
Eli demonstrates the thinking that keeps evil alive and well in the world. It isn’t just the schemers and the dictators who bring about evil, but all those who fall in line with corrupted systems and individuals for their own comfort, convenience, and safety.
Much like Van Alden, Eli is dishonest with himself about who he is. He lies to himself, contorting his own moral failings into positives. He grasps at absolution by imagining that his evil deeds are actually selfless acts of service to his family.
Margaret
Margaret Schroeder is a young woman involved with the Atlantic City Temperance League. Following the suspicious death of her abusive husband, Margaret begins a relationship with Nucky Thompson. Margaret is initially unaware of Thompson's role as a bootlegger, as well as his role in the death of her husband.
An Irish immigrant, Margaret comes to America to build a new life, only to find that the human condition is the same on both sides of the Atlantic. Not long into their relationship, Margaret discovers how Thompson has acquired so much money and power. While her reaction to this discovery is one of revulsion, she remains with Nucky for the sake of her children.
Without Nucky, Margaret will be a destitute single mother of two. By staying with him, her children will have opportunities and security she can’t provide for them on her own. She has known firsthand the pain and misery of poverty and doesn’t want her children to experience that hardship.
Despite her moral objections, Margaret chooses to look the other way. She busies herself with unrelated moral crusades and charitable causes to distract herself from her guilt and hypocrisy.
The presence of Margaret and the children in Nucky’s life is a constant reminder to him that he is not living in an upright way. This might have helped him to better himself if she were not also complicit in the crimes he commits. Her knowledge of his business and willingness to benefit from it, even passively, allows him to dismiss her objections and turns to resentment.
Margaret chooses to see herself as a morally sound woman who has become unwittingly wrapped up in a world of crime and corruption. Despite her disapproval of Nucky’s business, she understands that her own position and the future of her children are helped greatly by pretending not to see the violence that is bankrolling their lives. Margaret wrestles with admitting to herself that by choosing to stay, she is a part of the evil she hates.
Chalky
Chalky White is the unofficial leader of Atlantic City’s black community. Segregation is still heavily enforced at this time, but money and a desire for alcohol know no racial boundaries. Chalky White works with Nucky to steer the flow of cash and alcohol in a favorable direction for both parties.
Through grit and ruthlessness, Chalky has managed to establish himself as a leader in Atlantic City. Although very intelligent, he has no formal education and is illiterate. His insecurities about this fact make the education and proper upbringing of his children vitally important to him. Chalky will suffer any moral injury in the service of giving his children a chance at a better life. At least that’s what he tells himself.
As with so many others, the allure of easy money helps Chalky White rationalize his own morally repugnant behavior. He tells himself and his family that the immoral things he does to support them are done to protect them from having to do the same. It’s true that Chalky loves his wife and children, but his motivations are not so straightforward. As the story progresses, Chalky’s actions show what he truly values, and what he’s been motivated by all along.
Chalky’s pride and self-centeredness end up destroying everyone that puts their faith in him. His family, his community, and his own soul are all betrayed.
Jimmy
James Darmody is the son of Nucky Thompson's mentor, known in Atlantic City as The Commodore. The Commodore established the criminal order of Atlantic City in its earliest days. Those criminal ties eventually land The Commodore in prison. Nucky steps in to act as a father figure to Jimmy, providing for his upbringing and education.
When America enters the war, Jimmy drops out of college to join the army. He returns from the war a hardened and cynical man. He goes back to work for Nucky in the bootlegging operation, but resents not being immediately given a more important role. Nucky wants Jimmy to be patient and learn the trade. Impatience and resentment build in Jimmy and he begins to feel patronized by what he sees as high-handed and dismissive treatment from Nucky.
Jimmy's bitterness gets the better of him. He allows other spiteful members of Nucky’s crew, (including the increasingly resentful Eli) to encourage him to rip the operation away from Nucky. What follows is a war for dominance over Atlantic City that Jimmy was never truly prepared to fight.
Jimmy allowed his pride and resentment to write checks that his temperament and abilities simply couldn't cash. He refused to exercise patience and an understanding of himself and his motivations. He eventually realizes his errors, but only after irrevocably damaging his relationships with everyone he cares about.
Jimmy lied to himself about the actual causes of his anger. He lied to himself about what he really wanted out of life. He lied to himself about who he was.
By refusing to accept who he was and decide for himself what his life should mean, Jimmy allowed the wishes and beliefs of those around him to dictate his actions. Predictably, this set his life on a collision course with disaster.
Richard
Richard Harrow is a veteran of the first world war. As a sharpshooter, he learned to endure long periods of solitude and deprivation in pursuit of his objective. These traits would end up being useful after he sustains a horrific injury that robs him of half of his face.
Given a cheap prosthetic device to cover the awful disfigurement, Richard is discharged and sent back into the world to figure out how to live while being completely alienated from both society and himself. Richard drifts for a while before meeting Jimmy Darmody at a veterans hospital.
Richard and Jimmy quickly form a bond over their mutual understanding of the horrors of the war. Jimmy convinces Richard to work with him, putting his sharpshooting skills to use. Richard accepts and makes himself a valuable asset to the mob, who are always in need of an efficient hitman.
It isn't a desire to kill that motivates Richard. He isn't malicious or psychotic, but simply consumed with nihilism from his disfigurement and the psychological effects of his experiences in the war. Perversely, working for the mob helps him to keep his sanity by serving a purpose of sorts. The arrangement also appeals to Richard because it keeps him close to Jimmy, the only other person he feels any connection with.
Richard knows his actions are morally indefensible. What sets Richard apart from any other character in the series is that Richard doesn't lie to himself or others about this. He makes no attempt to rationalize or excuse his behavior. No “Greater Good” is being served. There is no silver lining. Just a man who has lost his ties to the rest of humanity along with any hope of regaining it.
In time, Richard Harrow finds a way to build genuine human connections with others. Through his attempts to reach out to other veterans, he finds a place for himself with a family that has been broken by the war just as he was. This family, and Richard's love and concern for them, is ultimately both his downfall and redemption.
After finally experiencing love and humanity, Richard wants to leave the violence and death behind him. Unfortunately, Richard's criminal ties and history in the city have made things unsafe for his new family. In order to get his loved ones away from Atlantic City and out of the reach of mob violence, Richard must return to his old trade. One last hit to settle a debt and then a new life with hope and promise.
Just one problem:
Until this moment, Richard has understood and accepted the true nature of his violent actions. Suddenly, the ability to rationalize that violence presents itself. Richard feels the strong temptation to use his family's wellbeing to justify his actions. Despite that temptation, Richard cannot lie to himself about the nature of what he is doing. Conflicted, he hesitates. That moment of hesitation leads to the culmination of many storylines in the series.
The Emerald City
Boardwalk Empire explores the genesis of the modern American political order. Unimaginable fortunes from illegal liquor sales turned low-rent criminals into kingpins overnight. Their wealth allowed them to purchase the loyalty of police, judges and politicians. By enacting prohibition, the government turned law-abiding citizens into common criminals, and turned actual criminals into politicians.
The abject failure of the government to enforce prohibition in any meaningful way was immediately obvious. Something needed to be done. Since governments have never encountered a problem they didn't think more government could solve, we saw the creation of an overarching federal police agency.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is formed and headed by the now infamous J. Edgar Hoover. Determined to make progress in the war on booze, Hoover is ready to trample the rights of any and all who stand in his way.
The rise of organized crime in America coincides directly with the rise of federal law enforcement. This is the greater story being told in Boardwalk Empire.
A government that outlaws something as ubiquitous as alcohol turns ordinary criminals into wealthy men.
Those wealthy men can then purchase the officials that oversee the same government that made them.
Conversely, the government now has leverage against the criminals, and is able to infiltrate organizations and turn members against one another for its own ends.
A standoff between criminal elements and government corruption (with an ocean of grey area between the two) has been going on ever since.
With the benefit of some distance, we can see how this murky relationship between federal agencies and organized crime has led to much of the chaos that has engulfed the latter half of the twentieth century and persists to this day.
Is it a coincidence that both parties shared so many central tenets?
Codes of silence.
Shakedowns.
Extortion rackets.
“Dealing” with members who step out of line.
Trafficking in drugs, arms, humans, and information/blackmail.
Boardwalk Empire shows us exactly how this sort of avalanche begins and how much damage it can do.
Deadwood was a story of the beginning of modern America. Even in those early days, the corrupting influence of crooked politicians and their civilian criminal counterparts was at work. The absorption of a wild outpost like Deadwood by corporate mining interests and paid off politicians was a pattern that would be repeated over and over for decades.
Boardwalk Empire continues the story of that pattern at its logical conclusion, which is when corrupt politicians and their criminal counterparts realize the power and wealth available to each party by joining forces. Not only would this union of bad state actors and criminal organizations be lucrative, it would also create a massive, unaccountable power structure that would only grow increasingly unassailable.
Cuanto
The rot in the system had been present from the start, but it needed the cooperation of several key elements in order to metastasize.
It needed corrupt politicians like Nucky Thompson to wield their power and influence toward criminal aims.
It needed unthinking footsoldiers like Eli Thompson, willing to corrupt the idea of justice and go along with evil for their own benefit.
It needed benefactors to extort, like Margaret Schroeder. People who, whether due to financial circumstances or concern for their families, would look the other way and allow evil to thrive.
It needed dishonest men like Chalky White, who through their pride and selfishness would abuse the trust of others to steer families and communities toward ruin.
It needed foolish young men, like Jimmy Darmody, who would commit to lives of crime and violence without understanding or caring about the damage done to themselves, their families, and their society.
It needed honest, but deeply flawed men like Richard Harrow, to begin questioning themselves and their convictions, causing them to hesitate and falter at moments of great importance.
It takes all of those elements to lead to the chaos and disasters of the century that would follow.
To the Lost
It’s easy to point out the failings of our predecessors, but can we honestly say we are any better? We shouldn’t fool ourselves into thinking that the decay we see around us is solely a product of figures from our past, nor is it only due to bad actors in our present-day institutions. We all share a portion of the blame. The decay in our society runs deep because it runs through all of us.
A society that is morally compromised, especially one that is dishonest with itself about that compromise, can endure for a while and may even reach great heights, but it will inevitably begin to unravel.
Deadwood showed us where the seeds of decay were planted in modern America. Boardwalk Empire shows us how the decay began to grow and spread. In Part Three, we'll fast-forward a few decades and examine the end stages of the American Century.
This is a really interesting and thought provoking piece of writing! I am presently rewatching the series, and you’ve opened a depth to it I wasn’t explicitly conscious of.
Richard Harrow is one of the best characters in modern television. He is a self-aware embodiment of Solhenitzyn’s line of good and evil.
There’s a line from the movie Fury, where the veteran tank gunner is schooling the new guy, “Wait till you see it.” “See what?” “What a man will do to another man.” The implication is that you won’t believe what you will do to others. Most people have no idea what circuits are buried in their wiring. Richard Harrow, knows what he is capable of. His injury, his nihilism comes from going to do something ‘good’, unaware of the monstrosity lurking inside, and his shame at witnessing himself behave as such.
As you point out, the other characters in the series all rationalize their behavior, if they think of it at all; but Harrow does not, he accepts himself, and condemns himself, as a monster. The terrible nature of his wounds are a physical reiteration of the truth of it. He is the only honest character, the only one truly willing to look in the mirror.
We’re all wearing a mask, not all of us know it.
This was so excellent. I love how you tied it together with deadwood and even to our current times. I had never considered what a large role prohibition really played. Very eye opening. Thank so much, I’m looking forward to the next part!