Social problems in the united states

Contents Crime Drug abuse Poverty Racial problems The Abuse of Power

Present situation anti- discrimination The history The origin present situation

Racism in the United States has been a major issue since the colonial era. Historically, the country has been dominated by white.

1. The citizens or their ancestors immigrated from many parts of the globe. A.Refugees from religious and political persecution. B.Adventurers from the Old World seeking a better life. C.Captives brought to America against their own will to be sold into slavery. The origin of racial problems Unlike most other peoples, American are primarily a nation of immigrants.

2. Though people all share a common American culture, the nationcontains many racial and ethnic subcultures with their own distinctive characteristics. The origin of racial problems 3. These differences have contributed to racial conflicts that have been a persistent social problem to American society.

The history of racial problems The slave auction The first blacks were brought to North America in Within a few decades the demand for their cheap labor led to a massive slave trade that ultimately transported some Africans to this continent, where they were sold like cattle at auctions.

Civil War The Emancipation Proclamation The Northern states had all outlawed slavery by1830, but the Southern state maintained the institution until it was finally ended by the Civil War, Lincoln’s emancipation of slavery in 1863, and the 13 th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865.

After the abolition of slavery, many states passed segregation laws 种族隔离法, and institutionalized discrimination kept blacks in the lowest-paid jobs.

The 1960s saw the great civil rights movement whose goals were to end segregation laws completely and fight for equal rights for the colored people, after that, many American blacks began to have a new mood.

Martin Luther King encouraged black people to use nonviolent means to achieve their goals of equal treatment. Finally, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act 民权法案 of 1964 to stop discrimination in all public places.

The blacks and the whites still regard each other as an enemy In spite of the gains of the Civil Rights Movement, racial problems still exist. The laws have changed, but some people-- on all sides of the color spectrum--remain prejudiced.

present situation The current status of black Americans presents a mixed picture. The elimination of legal barriers to their advancement has been a major gain, but institutionalized discrimination is still rife.

5.2% 10.2% There is a world of difference between the two. The income gap between the blacks and the white The unemployment rate

Some pictures about the present conditions of American racial discrimination

the pictures of demonstrations held by the black

The white dolls are two times as high as the black ones Some other phenomena of racial discrimination As a black, others often made fun of Obama

anti-discrimination As a result of the racial discrimination, there appears more and more problems in the society and the Americans can’t wait to find a way to solve it.

Poverty of a rich world ― American poverty

Current situation causessolutions Consequence

Current situation the children remained far above the national average level of poverty

The past few decades, the government against poverty policies, the composition of poverty-stricken population in great changes have taken place

Single parent families is the population of the most part, to increase the maximum speed of all poor families

Causes The distribution of income is unequal. The wage of manual workers is too low Personal Irresponsibility, negative attitude, bad living habits and inferior cultural value leads to poverty. Long-term social and economic inequality, stagnant wages and lack of public assistance program, unreasonable policy is the mainly responsible for their poverty.

Solutions Take a more active welfare policy to solve the problems of poverty stick to "remedial" social relief policies so that the government can guarantee the lowest level of life Increasing education and employment training, establish the social welfare and social assistance system Fully take use of the power of folk organization in charity and relief

Consequences This raises serious moral questions and creates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies.

drug abuse American Overview Crime Economy Death The youth

Overview Once, the world health organization reported that American is the largest country of consuming drug. They reported over 72,000,000 American people have used drug. Over 33% cocaine all over the world is consumed in America.

Drug &crime Drug trafficking and violence Drug abuse and violence

Drug &Economy 11 Accident,medical bill, lost production Treatment and control of drug abuse Many indirect cost Processing drug

Drug &death It is reported that junkie’s average lifetime is 10 to 15years shorter than the normal people,25% junkie will die 10 to 20 years later

Drug &death Excessive drug use Suicide because of drug Cause other disease Indifferent attitude after junkie is ill Death because of accident regularly The reason

Drug &the youth age 15~18 19~ % 14.9% now 10.8% 18.8%

Drug &the youth 27.3% junkie begin to use drug because of anguish, Loneliness, depressed 41%youth used drug when they were in middle school 62% youth have gone to drug trade center 1,000,000 children between 8 to 12 years old have seen the drug trade in their school

Drug &the youth

Crime ——Another serious social problem

Crime in US Crime is one of the most serious social problems facing the nation. A survey by the LEAA found that 61% of all women feel unsafe in their own neighborhoods at night ; 45% is afraid to walk alone at night near their own home; and that 47% own guns,largely for self-protection.Even someone said that almost half of American women were raped at least once in a lifetime.

The Gender 1.One reason is the sex role stereotyping which encourge males to be more aggressiveand daring. 2.The second reason is the tendcy of polic officers and the courts to deal more leniently with female offemders Males are arrested about four times as often as females.

The Young Young people appear to commit far more than their share of crime. 1 They may be less skillful than older adults in avoiding being arrested. 2 They tend to commit crimes,such as auto theft,which are highly visible to the police.

The Black The arrest rate for the black population is three times higher than for white. 1.A higher proportion of the black population is poor or unemployed. 2.An additional reason for higher arrest rate among minority groups may be racial prejudice.

White-collar crimes The crimes typically committed by higher income groups, including fraud, false advertising, corporate price fixing, bribery, embezzlement, industrial pollution, tax evasion, etc.

The Abuse of Power by Government and Corporations

A crucial problem of government and corporation concerns power and the abuse of it. Americans lives are dominated by large public and private organizations.

The public organizations, primarily government agencies, affect almost every area of their experience. the public organizations register births provide education social services regulate many of the conditions of employment …… register deaths

The private organizations, primarily business corporations, provide jobs for the bulk of the population and supply most of consumer needs, from banking and television services to clothing and gasoline.

But these organizations are often experienced as oppressive unresponsive impersonal inefficient arrogant and even corrupt The lack of public answerability of these large organizations has become a major social problem.

Government and corporations are widely distrusted in the United States. Watergate scandal of the early 1970s Distrust of government reached its height. The Watergate affair led to the trials and convictions of many high public officials on such charges as extortion, perjury, conspiracy.

The scandal provoked congressional investigations of the FBI and the CIA that turned literally thousands of illegal acts in the executive branch of government. The CIA, without any authorization from Congress, plotted the assassination of foreign heads of state, including Fidel Castro of Cuba.

The FBI Many burglaries of presumed critics of the administration. Widespread illegal wiretapping. 窃听 器

As for corporations, they are widely believed to be more concerned with their own profits than with social responsibility,and the quality or price of their products, or the truth of their advertising.