The birth of America's gang problem can be traced to the dawn of the country, a time when many Europeans migrated to the East coast with the intent of making a better life. After arriving their savings was quickly depleted and many were forced to take out loans with local merchants and colonization companies, who charged steep interest rates. Life for many was more difficult than they imagined and death due to poverty and disease was common. There were many who died orphaning their children. With no money to send the children back to their homeland and with no relatives to care for them in America was a common problem in many cities.

1700 - 1790s

During the mid-1700s in most towns had an orphanage managed by the local church. Even cities with populations as small as 1,000 people had an orphanage. Most families had their own trials and tribulations and to worry about someone else's children was too much to expect, as a result adoptions were rare. To see children wandering the streets was so common that the orphanages' philosophy was to keep the children separated from the rest of society, not to find a home for them. With little funding and no operational rules or guidelines, children housed in these institutions lived in despicable conditions.

To better prepare the children for entering society an apprentice program was created which could be described as the predecessor to the country's foster care programs. Starting as early as 10-years-old, a boy was taken out of the orphanage and placed with the local blacksmith, butcher, shopkeeper or with someone who could teach them a trade. The boy was taught a trade and received food and shelter. In exchange, the business owner had an employee at a fraction of the cost of hiring an adult. It was hoped that once the boy entered manhood, he would start his own business and become a productive member of society. In reality, community leaders found that the boys were receiving little care and guidance. They quickly discovered that after the boys completed their daily chores, they received no additional supervision or guidance.

Juvenile delinquency became a major concern as scores of homeless children strolled the streets in nearly every large city. Children and teenagers stealing food and clothing was a common problem. Night watchmen had difficulty keeping the youngsters from engaging in minor acts of mischief. Although the youth were banded together, they were more of a nuisance for the communities rather than feared violent organizations. Crime rates quickly rose and by 1790, slave labor was in such abundance that the apprentice program was abandon.

1791 - 1849

As residents of the country were burdened with heavy taxes, organized smuggling and robbery gangs were found in every major costal city. These adult gangs such as the Doane Gang were known for committing vicious acts of robbery. The Doane Gang existed for nearly 10 years until they were caught and executed. In 1791 gangs were such a problem that city officials in Philadelphia had an emergency meeting to decide how to deal with their city's gang problem. They determined they had numerous groups of disruptive youth engaged in organized criminal acts.

The early 1800s brought a definite distinction in social classes and the gang problem continued to grow touching all age groups. Gangs were generally comprised of members of the same race and ethnic background, who banded together for protection, recreation and financial gain. In Manhattan, the Forty Thieves Gang operated as professional murderers, muggers, burglars and pickpockets. Their younger auxiliary, the Little Forty Thieves Gang was soon created which consisted of juvenile delinquents as young as 10-years-old. In 1825, the Little Forty Thieves Gang and the many other youth gangs caused New York City officials to announce their city had a gang problem.

1850 - 1860

By the 1850s gangs such as the Plug Uglies Gang, the Dead Rabbits Gang and the Chichesters Gang were formed. The Plug Uglies Gang received their name from the giant plug hats they wore. The hats were filled with rags, wool and leather and were worn over their ears as helmets to protect them during gang fights. They required all members to be of Irish decent and to be at least 6 feet tall. The Dead Rabbits Gang specialized in mugging, pickpocketing and robbery. This gang existed for nearly twenty years and was known to carry a spear with a dead rabbit mounted on it during all conflicts with rival groups. The Chichesters Gang got their name from their homeland, a city in Ireland.

The gang problem was virtually described as an Irish and Welsh problem. For many years Irish, Welsh and Chinese immigrants migrated to the country and were used as a source of cheap labor. The Chinese moved into communities and quickly isolated themselves from the American culture. Tong and Triad groups quickly formed in every Chinese-American community. Criminal groups controlled by the Chinese received little attention from the media, but they were credited with bringing opium to the country. It was the Irish gangs who had membership numbers in the thousands and it was they who received all the attention in the media.

In large cities gang membership continued to increase until the gangs gained powerful control over many neighborhoods. As citizens became more concerned, government officials blamed unwed mothers and the perils of illegitimacy as the cause of their increasing gang problems. This 1850s report was unsurprisingly familiar to a 1989 report by the U. S. House Committee. The committee blamed the breakdown of the family structure as the cause of violence in a statement released to the New York Times. It was not until 1853 that a New York City police captain organized the Strong Arm Squad to combat their growing gang problem. The squad consisted of the bravest and strongest men who daily assaulted and arrested gang members whether or not they were currently engaged in criminal activity.

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