"Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe pirates, vikings, highwaymen, bandits, mobsters, and similar

outlaw An outlaw, in its original and legal meaning, is a person declared as outside the protection of the law. In pre-modern societies, all legal protection was withdrawn from the criminal, so that anyone was legally empowered to persecute or kill them ...

Origin and usage

The expression dates back to Roman times. The

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

declared emperor Nero a ''hostis publicus'' in AD 68. Its direct translation is "public enemy". Whereas "public" is currently used in English in order to describe something related to collectivity at large, with an implication towards government or the State, the Latin word "publicus" could, in addition to that meaning, also refer directly to people, making it the equivalent of the

genitive In grammar, the genitive case (abbreviated ) is the grammatical case that marks a word, usually a noun, as modifying another word, also usually a noun—thus indicating an attributive relationship of one noun to the other noun. A genitive can al ...

of ''populus'' ("people"), ''populi'' ("popular" or "of the people"). Thus, "public enemy" and " enemy of the people" are, etymologically, near-synonyms. The words "'' ennemi du peuple''" were extensively used during the French revolution. On 25 December 1793,

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

stated: "The revolutionary government owes to the good citizen all the protection of the nation; it owes nothing to the Enemies of the People but death". The Law of 22 Prairial in 1794 extended the remit of the Revolutionary Tribunal to punish "enemies of the people", with some political crimes punishable by death, including "spreading false news to divide or trouble the people".Higgins, Andrew (February 26, 2017
"Trump Embraces ‘Enemy of the People,’ a Phrase With a Fraught History"
'' The New York Times'' The modern use of the term was first popularized in April 1930 by Frank J. Loesch, then chairman of the

Chicago Crime Commission The Chicago Crime Commission is an independent, non-partisan civic watchdog organization of business leaders dedicated to educating the public about the dangers of organized criminal activity, especially organized crime, street gangs and the tools o ...

, in an attempt to publicly denounce

Al Capone Alphonse Gabriel Capone (; January 17, 1899 – January 25, 1947), sometimes known by the nickname "Scarface", was an American gangster and businessman who attained notoriety during the Prohibition era as the co-founder and boss of the ...

and other organized crime gangsters. In 1933, Loesch recounted the origin and purpose of the list: All of those listed were reputed to be gangsters or racketeers and most were rum-running bootleggers. Although all were known to be consistent law breakers (most prominently in regard to the widely broken Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution banning alcohol), none of those named were fugitives or were actively wanted by the law. The list's purpose was clearly to shame those named and to encourage authorities to prosecute them. The phrase was later appropriated by J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, who used it to describe various notorious fugitives they were pursuing throughout the 1930s. Unlike Loesch's use of the term, the FBI's "Public Enemies" were wanted criminals and fugitives who were already charged with crimes. Among the criminals whom the FBI called "public enemies" were John Dillinger, Baby Face Nelson,

Bonnie and Clyde Bonnie Elizabeth Parker (October 1, 1910May 23, 1934) and Clyde Chestnut (Champion) Barrow (March 24, 1909May 23, 1934) were an American criminal couple who traveled the Central United States with their gang during the Great Depression. The co ...

, Pretty Boy Floyd, Machine Gun Kelly, Ma Barker, and Alvin Karpis. The term was used so extensively during the 1930s that some writers call that period of the FBI's early history the "Public Enemy Era". Dillinger, Floyd, Nelson, and Karpis, in that order, would be deemed "Public Enemy Number 1" from June 1934 to May 1936. Use of the term eventually evolved into the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list. The FBI's website describes the bureau's use of the term: "The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice made use of the term, 'Public Enemy,' in the 1930s, an era in which the term was synonymous with 'fugitive' or 'notorious gangster.'" It was used in speeches, books, press releases, and internal memoranda and remains in usage to this day. File:John Dillinger mug shot.jpg, John Dillinger File:Baby Face Nelson 1931 mug shot.jpg, 1931 Mugshot of Lester Gillis aka "George "Baby Face" Nelson" File:Bonnieclyde f.jpg, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker File:PrettyBoyFloyd01.jpg, "Pretty Boy" Floyd File:MachineGunKelly.jpg, "Machine Gun" Kelly File:Alvin Karpis.jpg, Alvin Karpis

References

External links

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Alphonse Capone Documentary - Public Enemy Number One
{{Conformity Crime in the United States Crime in the United Kingdom English phrases Enemy