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The historical context of inequality in the United States can be can be traced back to the American South and the times of the Civil War. The slave trade, Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment largely contribute to the inequality presented of the African American population.
“Slavery in America began when the first African slaves were brought to the North American colony of Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619, to aid in the production of such crops as tobacco” ( HISTORY). Replaced by the poorer sector of Europeans, African Americans were used as cheap labor and household servants. John Green, from You tube’s “Crash Course” states that Three-fourths of the cotton produce in the world came from the American South. By 1860, there were 4 million
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slaves in the southern states that made up one-third of the population down there. The south was largely agricultural and rural. Large cotton plantations were a huge focus and profitable aspect of that time period. Most slave holders had an average of about 5 per slaves per plantation and these slaves endure very harsh working conditions (Green). The Lincoln Administration institutionalized the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863. The Proclamation was used as a measure of war. This ideal was acted upon as an expansion to the meaning of the word “American”. The African Americans that did not reside in loyal slave holding states were given the freedom to join the American armed forces and serve the country. “The proclamation included a provision for enlisting former slaves in the Union army. Because Lincoln's authority extended only to the seizure of property of those in rebellion (no proclamation could invalidate the legal ownership of slaves by masters in the loyal slave states), tens of thousands of slaves would have to wait for the Thirteenth Amendment, passed in December 1865, to gain their freedom”. “Although the proclamation had no instantaneous effect on slaves outside the reach of the Union armies, it did immediately transform the war. The war to preserve the Union also became a moral crusade to end slavery” ("Emancipation Proclamation - The New York Times"). The Proclamation did not abolish slavery, but only set a portion of them free. “Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment abolished slavery in the United States and provides that "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction” (13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery). “The House of Representatives initially defeated the 13th Amendment (S.J. Res. 16) by a vote of 93 in favor, 65 opposed, and 23 not voting, which is less than the two-thirds majority needed to pass a Constitutional Amendment” (13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress). After the conclusion Civil War, “One hundred forty-three years after passage of the 13th Amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, there are more slaves than at any time in human history -- 27 million”. The African American Community is still “enslaved” to an idea that some of their lives can be bought and worth so very little. “Today’s slavery focuses on big profits and cheap lives. It is not about owning people like before, but about using them as completely disposable tools for making money” (McNally). Along with exploitation through the workforce and big business, this population continues on with day to day struggles such as profiling and misjudgment of their character based on their physical appearance and stature in certain areas of the country. Our criminal justice system exploits the minority by jailing their generations. Government systems fund for “fundamental testing” to the younger crowd of African Americans as well as the poorer minorities and neighborhoods for future projections of increased incarceration to come. Juvenile justice systems serve as a barrier between teen and adult criminality but make it possible for a widespread of ages in the black community to be held captive. Children and teens are impressionable in both negative and positive ways. More often than not, kids and teens alike stay in the system after being exposed to the condemning life of “crime” and soar through the system even in the days of adulthood after early exposure to the unequal way things work in the criminal justice
system. The society lived in today has created a modern version of slaves in and this is shown through the Global Slavery Index (Kristof). The Global Slavery Index shows the annual ranking of slavery conditions The contrast between the battle of inequality then and now is more similar than we believe. The systems of slavery culturally and legally focus on intimidation, brutality and dehumanization. These factors were apparent then through the use of the Emancipation Proclamation and 13th Amendment "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Abolition of Slavery." National Archives and Records Administration. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. "13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution: Primary Documents of American History (Virtual Programs & Services, Library of Congress)." The Library of Congress. N.p., 20 Apr. 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. "A Century of Lawmaking for a New Nation: U.S. Congressional Documents and Debates, 1774 - 1875." American Memory from the Library of Congress. United States 38th Congress, 1875. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. Dunnaville, Clarence M. "Unequal Justice Under the Law— Racial Inequities in the Justice System." Virginia State Bar - An Agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia. N.p., Dec. 2000. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. "Emancipation Proclamation - The New York Times." Times Topics - The New York Times. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. Green, John. "Slavery - Crash Course US History #13." YouTube. N.p., 2 May 2013. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. History. "Slavery in America - Black History." HISTORY.com. A&E Networks, 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. Kristof, Nicholas. "Slavery Isnt a Thing of the Past - The New York Times." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. N.p., 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. McNally, Terrance. "There Are More Slaves Today Than at Any Time in Human History." Alternet. N.p., 24 Aug. 2009. Web. 24 Sept. 2015. "Slavery Alert: Consumer Poll, United States." Global Slavery Index. N.p., 2015. Web. 20 Sept. 2015. .
In the excerpt reading from Locking Up Our Own, the author, James Forman Jr., spoke about the issue our society has faced recently with mass incarceration of African-American males. He also talks about his own past experience with the situation through being a public defender. He had previously worked under Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, and decided that he wanted to defend low-income individuals who were charged with crimes in Washington, D.C. Forman detailed a few specific cases he had working with young, African-American males and retold his reactions to some of the convictions.
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
Today, more African American adults are under correctional control than were enslaved in 1850, a decade before the Civil War began (Alexander 180). Throughout history, there have been multiple racial caste systems in the United States. In her book The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander defines a “racial caste” as “a racial group locked into an inferior position by law and custom” (12). Alexander argues that both Jim Crow and slavery functioned as racial caste systems, and that our current system of mass incarceration functions as a similar caste system, which she labels “The New Jim Crow”. There is now a silent Jim Crow in our nation. Mass incarceration today serves the same function as did slavery before the Civil War and Jim Crow laws after the Civil War - to uphold a racial caste system.
Many would argue that the reason why the incarceration rate for African Americans is sustainably higher compared to white American is because of economic situations, and because of past arrest patterns. While it is true that the economic opportunity someone has will affect their decisions, this argument doesn’t fully explain the real reason of why the rates are higher. To fully understand the reason why one must look back on America’s history and how African Americans were treated. The past arrest patterns do not explain why the gap continues to increase, however it is clear that the past arrest patterns is more an indicator of institutional racism that exists in this country. One study found that African Americans believe the reason for the high incarceration rates is becau...
In The New Jim Crow: Mass incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Michelle Alexander introduces readers to the phenomenon of mass incarceration in the United States and challenges readers to view the crisis as the “ the most pressing racial justice issue of our time.” In the introduction, Alexander writes “what the book is intended to do and that is to stimulate much needed conversation about the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy in the United States.” We come to understand, How the United States create criminal justice system and maintain racial hierarchy through mass incarceration? How the current system of mass incarceration in the United States mirrors earlier systems of racialized
There is a high degree of social inequality within the United States. Of most modern industrial countries, the United Stated has some of the richest and some of the poorest people to be found. That fact is very disturbing, however, explains why much of the inequality exists in the US. In the following essay I will explain to you about the inequality in our country and why it occurs, based on the theoretical perspectives of a functionalist, conflict theorist, and social interationist.
Throughout the semester, we have discussed many different issues that are currently prevalent in the United States, specifically those related to racial discrimination. One specific issue that I have developed interest and research in is that of institutionalized racism, specifically in the form of mass incarceration, and what kinds of effects mass incarceration has on a community. In this paper, I will briefly examine a range of issues surrounding the mass incarceration of black and Latino males, the development of a racial undercaste because of rising incarceration rates, women and children’s involvement and roles they attain in the era of mass incarceration, and the economic importance that the prison system has due to its development.
Why are so a large number of people that beg for money, sitting on the streets, looking for food 's some sort? It is not day-to-day that we consider situations like this, but it is out there constantly without all of us realizing it. A number of states have poverty 's more issues than others, but it is sad to think about how plenty of people are actually considered to be in poverty. This is an inequality concerning me a lot, and is getting worse daily. Poverty in the United States relates to people whose annual household earnings are less than a poverty line set by the United States government. Poverty is common, resulted in by numerous different factors such as failing markets, structural problems, unfortunate mishaps, and poor individual
Most black Americans are under the control of the criminal justice today whether in parole or probation or whether in jail or prison. Accomplishments of the civil rights association have been challenged by mass incarceration of the African Americans in fighting drugs in the country. Although the Jim Crow laws are not so common, many African Americans are still arrested for very minor crimes. They remain disfranchised and marginalized and trapped by criminal justice that has named them felons and refuted them their rights to be free of lawful employment and discrimination and also education and other public benefits that other citizens enjoy. There is exists discernment in voting rights, employment, education and housing when it comes to privileges. In the, ‘the new Jim crow’ mass incarceration has been described to serve the same function as the post civil war Jim crow laws and pre civil war slavery. (Michelle 16) This essay would defend Michelle Alexander’s argument that mass incarcerations represent the ‘new Jim crow.’
Although our present day society still questions whether the rights of the Individual should outweigh the public order or the social order of our country should outweigh the individual rights has enlightened me to a distorted vision and a compromised system and questionable Leadership. “African- American men comprise less than 6% of the U.S. population and almost one-half of its criminal prisons.” Quoted by the Bureau of justice statistics. When research is conducted by another other than oneself yield such great crippling results, it does hold truths to be true to that which began before our awakening
According to statistics since the early 1970’s there has been a 500% increase in the number of people being incarcerated with an average total of 2.2 million people behind bars. The increase in rate of people being incarcerated has also brought about an increasingly disproportionate racial composition. The jails and prisons have a high rate of African Americans incarcerated with an average of 900,000 out of the 2.2 million incarcerateed being African American. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics 1 in 6 African American males has been incarcerated at some point in time as of the year 2001. In theory if this trend continues it is estimated that about 1 in 3 black males being born can be expected to spend time in prison and some point in his life. One in nine African American males between the ages of 25 and 29 are currently incarcerated. Although the rate of imprisonment for women is considerably lower than males African American women are incarc...
In the United States, the rate of incarceration has increased shockingly over the past few years. In 2008, it was said that one in 100 U.S. adults were behind bars, meaning more than 2.3 million people. Even more surprising than this high rate is the fact that African Americans have been disproportionately incarcerated, especially low-income and lowly educated blacks. This is racialized mass incarceration. There are a few reasons why racialized mass incarceration occurs and how it negatively affects poor black communities.
In the wake of President Obama’s election, the United States seems to be progressing towards a post-racial society. However, the rates of mass incarceration of black males in America deem this to be otherwise. Understanding mass incarceration as a modern racial caste system will reveal the role of the criminal justice system in creating and perpetuating racial hierarchy America. The history of social control in the United States dates back to the first racial caste systems: slavery and the Jim Crow Laws. Although these caste systems were outlawed by the 13th amendment and Civil Rights Act respectively, they are given new life and tailored to the needs of the time.In other words, racial caste in America has not ended but has merely been redesigned in the shape of mass incarceration. Once again, the fact that more than half of the young black men in many large American cities are under the control of the criminal justice system show evidence of a new racial caste system at work. The structure of the criminal justice system brings a disproportionate number of young black males into prisons, relegating them to a permanent second-class status, and ensuring there chances of freedom are slim. Even when minorities are released from prisons, they are discriminated against and most usually end up back in prisons . The role of race in criminal justice system is set up to discriminate, arrest, and imprison a mass number of minority men. From stopping, searching, and arresting, to plea bargaining and sentencing it is apparent that in every phases of the criminal justice system race plays a huge factor. Race and structure of Criminal Justice System, also, inhibit the integration of ex offenders into society and instead of freedom, relea...
Is Inequality in America really as bad as we perceive it? In America, we have many people discussing back and forth on the issue of inequality. Some people claim that inequality is a rapidly growing phenomenon, separating the rich from the poor. Though, other Americans claim that we’re progressing and departing away from inequality. However, the way in which we choose to perceive inequality is our choice, but we cannot ignore the fact that it exist. Inequality is an issue that has been constantly debated in the past, and will continue to be debated, so long as we do not put an end to it. Inequality is changing our country. The people who enjoy higher social statuses are spending their money with no limitations, whereas the people in the lower
Income inequality continues to increase in today’s world, especially in the United States. Income inequality means the unequal distribution between individuals’ assets, wealth, or income. In the Twilight of the Elites, Christopher Hayes, a liberal journalist, states the inequality gap between the rich and the poor are increasing widening, and there need to have things done - tax the rich, provide better education - in order to shortening the inequality gap. America is a meritocratic country, which means that everybody has equal opportunity to be successful regardless of their class privileges or wealth. However, equality of opportunity does not equal equality of outcomes. People are having more opportunities to find a better job, but their incomes are a lot less compared to the top ten percent rich people. In this way, the poor people will never climb up the ladder to high status and become millionaires. Therefore, the government needs to increase all the tax rates on rich people in order to reduce income inequality.