The United States Of America Essay

Mass incarceration is an issue that defines us as a society. Today, the United States of America makes up about five percent of the world’s population and has twenty-five percent of the world’s prisoners. Also, one of every one hundred adults are locked up, and one in every thirty-seven adults in the United States is under some form of correctional supervision: in addition, African Americans are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whites. Young black people went through many difficulties; however, they are still called super predators by Hillary Clinton. One of many difficulties is the African slavery, although it was over a century ago, it left a scar and a horrible memory in everyone's mind. All the phenomenons that occurred in our country during the last century gathered thoughts and escalated the problem of mass incarceration which made the people including the police look differently at African American people. I am against the mass incarceration issue. Opposing Donald Trump, I think we should reduce the number of people behind bars with cautions, because It is a complex subject that has many causes and effects in the long term to the people inside and outside the prison.

After 245 years of slavery, the United States consistently tries to redefine itself as an inclusive country in attempt to erase their past. In reality, those who are in power have found new ways to enforce their power on non whites, specifically African-Americans in America, one of which is through the prison system. Eller mentions that although the percentage in the American population of black men are 12 percent, they constitute for 44 percent of arrests for violent crimes (Eller, pg. 280). In addition, African-Americans are given longer prison sentences for the same crime committed by

The United States of America has always been considered a “melting pot”, a place where people of all backgrounds can coalesce and share ideas and cultures and succeed together as one. From afar, America as seen as a place of white picket fences and limitless prosperity, where anyone can achieve opulence regardless of their social class or the circumstances of their birth. . Countless immigrants come to America each year, holding onto this fading idea of the American Dream. Some seek opportunity, better lives for themselves or their children. Others seek asylum, fleeing countries and territories to escape deadly regimes and gang violence. Many of them come illegally; as many as eleven million illegal immigrants currently reside within the United States, according to a study published by the Center of Latin American Studies at the University of California at Berkley. Reception of the immigrants has varied over the past thirty years. As the number of immigrants who travel across the border increases, so do the tensions. Many Americans are calling for immigration reform from both sides, half asking lawmakers to grant immigrants amnesty, the other asking to strengthen our borders. With this change in the political climate, it is important to assess the pros and cons of illegal immigration. The question isn’t if reform is needed. It is what direction it is needed in.

The physical side is at one time they did love each other because kids were born. The shared activities are the fact they have children and they still do things as a family.

The United States accounts for 5% of the world population, but our prison population makes up 25% of the world’s (Nagin, 2014). African Americans account for the largest percent of our prison population because they have the highest incarceration rate compared to other races. This essay will argue that African Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than Caucasians. Proven by statistical data, there are grounds to establish that the racial disparity in incarceration rates is a social problem. To address this social problem, public policy should be implemented by the Federal Government.

We have a Criminal Justice System that will treat you better if you're rich and guilty than if you're poor and innocent. The United States has 25% of the worlds prisoners, weaponizing its black decent. In 1972, the prison population was around 300,000. Today, the prison population accounts for 2.3 million people. Mass incarceration mostly affects people of color, young to middle aged black men in particular. It began after the Civil War when they were arrested for extremely minor crimes. Slavery was an economic system that was essential, so when it was abolished, improvises were made. Mass incarceration is the product of a century's long historical process.

In 2009, a survey showed that blacks were arrested for drug possession more than three times as often as whites, and a survey made in 2011 showed that whites have abused drugs more than blacks (The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive). Yet, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, one out of every 3 black males can expect to go to prison in their lifetime, and 225,000 of the people who were serving time in state prisons for drug offenses in 2011, blacks made up 45 percent while whites comprised of just 30 percent. One must question, why is there a disproportionate number of African Americans in the criminal justice system? Well, the majority of Americans are unaware of this mass incarceration and outright racism in the criminal justice system. When we think of racism, we think of the 1930’s-60’s, slavery, and Jim Crow which come to mind, but what

American has a legacy of the mistreatment and disenfranchisement of African Americans. The same bad treatment that many think only took place in the past is in fact still intact, it’s just presented in a new way. The mass incarceration of blacks in the Unites States can be attributed to the “racial hierarchy” that has always existed. The U.S contributes to about 5% of the worlds overall population, and about 25% of the worlds prison population (Holland 1), “if those rates reflected jail, probation and parole populations, the numbers would rise exponentially”(Griffith 9). Statics show that there is a chance that about 1 in 3 black males are expected end up in prison (Jacobson). Although, in terms of the entire United States population African Americans only make up about 13% (Prison Activist Resource Center. Racism Fact Sheets: “ Latinos and the Criminal Injustice System.” 2003). There is a huge number of African Americans involved in the criminal justice system in some way. The average person does not know about mass incarceration nor about the racism that is in just about every part of the criminal justice system. When most people think about racism their thoughts often drift to slavery or Jim Crow laws, but for most, they do not consider how the amount of African Americans in prison today could be due to bias or racism. A significant cause of mass incarceration is the same racism that produced the Jim Crow era.

One of the primary evidences of this fact is the book written by author Michelle Alexander, The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. This book speaks on how old habits die-hard and how difficult it is to banish deep-rooted social norms. She states, “The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison” (2012, p. 16). This may be an eye-opening statement for some to read, however, it is a reality we have lived with since the start of time, just in different a context.

One way African Americans have a disadvantage in the criminal justice system is the arrest rates. Per chapter 4 in the Color of Justice book, it states that “66 percent of African Americans are more likely to be arrested before the age of 30” (Samuel Walker; Cassia Spohn; Miriam Delone, 2012, p. 172). Based on the statistics given, African Americans seem more likely to be targeted for an arrest. The population for the African American community only makes up for 13 percent of the United States, and out of that statistic, most them will be arrested. There should be a justification to the judicial system for this outrageous arrest rate on the African American community. Another way on how African Americans have a disadvantage through the criminal justice system is by the judicial system. Chapter seven in the “Color of Justice” book briefly describes the racial differences on how

“We [the United States] imprison more of our own people than any other country on earth, including China, which has four times our population, or in human history” (Bloom). Due to the decades past between the “war on drugs” and “Get Tough on Crime” which has left a trail of broken tears and a failed system. The mass incarceration boom consisted of several tactics such as just desserts and three strike laws. The model may not have been directed toward the African American community, but the numbers have not lied, a large chunk of inmates are those of color. Surprisingly a lot of people who have been locked up as well as doing time currently are not all violent, actually most of the inmates are incarcerated for nonviolent charges. The guilty,

    African Americans make up almost 15% of the population in the United States, yet they make up 40% of the population of incarcerated individuals. This is only one of several features that produces the corruption and failure of our system of punishment. According to a survey conducted in Grand Rapids, out of 25 people surveyed 20 of them knew someone who had been incarcerated (Poeder). One of the people surveyed that also was incarcerated themselves, replied that the system was “setup to fail” (Poeder). The United States has only about 5% of the population of the world yet we have a quarter of the world's ratio of people in cages. During this essay I will prove that our system of imprisonment is a disturbing, silent

“The United States imprisons a larger percentage of its black population than South Africa did at the height of apartheid. In Washington, D.C., our nation’s capitol, it is estimated that three out of four young black men (and nearly all those in the poorest neighborhoods) can expect to serve time in prison” (Alexander, 2012). The numbers tell the story better than words can: black people are more likely to go to prison than any other race in the United States, shown by the fact that more than 60% of the prison population is composed of people of color (The Sentencing Project, 2016). These statistics can be traced back to several different cause, including the Era of Jim Crow and the War on Drugs, both of which led to higher policing in minority areas.

One of the reasons our culture’s idea of justice needs to be reformed is because, race plays too much of a factor in how you are treated today in society. In her book, The New Jim Crow, Michelle Alexander states that “three out of four young black men can expect to serve time in prison.”(Alexander, Pg. 6) This shows of how a majority of the African American population is expected to be in jail at least once in their life. This is one of the reasons why black people tend to be afraid of the police. This is also important because, it clearly shows of how the black population is geared to be incarcerated. When I read

In one time, William McKinley manifested “Expositions are the timekeepers of progress,” inspiring America that the workflow will be presented graciously. Reaching to the years of massive expansions, America had grown tremendously with goods and services. During the late 1890s, President McKinley urged Americans to transformed America into the greatest powerful nation in the whole world. In preparing for a strong nation, the Spanish-American War had enclosed their attainments due to tensions between Spain and United States. American had its victories and forwarded the Treaty of Paris which had control over several foreign countries. After the war, United States focused on up warding their nation. America’s progression of new