Our Founders’ Fears: The Roots of the Criminalization of African Americans

IF 0.8 Q3 ETHNIC STUDIES Journal of African American Studies Pub Date : 2024-06-27 DOI:10.1007/s12111-024-09656-7
Charles W. Davis
{"title":"Our Founders’ Fears: The Roots of the Criminalization of African Americans","authors":"Charles W. Davis","doi":"10.1007/s12111-024-09656-7","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>The origin of the criminalization of African Americans is often considered to be the period after the Civil War with the passage of a series of repressive laws called the Black Codes. However, I argue that the progenitor of this criminalization originated over 80 years earlier during the Founding Era, particularly following the British royal governor of Virginia’s proclamation in 1775 that promised to free all enslaved people who fought on the side of the British. The Founders feared any actions from the Black population to obtain their freedom and equal rights. Therefore, the Founders criminalized all aspects of their lives which was discussed at federal and state constitutional conventions, codified in the United States Constitution and confirmed at the First Congress of the United States. This was the catalyst for the laws and policies that negatively influence the present-day criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts African Americans.</p>","PeriodicalId":42334,"journal":{"name":"Journal of African American Studies","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.8000,"publicationDate":"2024-06-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of African American Studies","FirstCategoryId":"1085","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s12111-024-09656-7","RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":null,"ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q3","JCRName":"ETHNIC STUDIES","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0

Abstract

The origin of the criminalization of African Americans is often considered to be the period after the Civil War with the passage of a series of repressive laws called the Black Codes. However, I argue that the progenitor of this criminalization originated over 80 years earlier during the Founding Era, particularly following the British royal governor of Virginia’s proclamation in 1775 that promised to free all enslaved people who fought on the side of the British. The Founders feared any actions from the Black population to obtain their freedom and equal rights. Therefore, the Founders criminalized all aspects of their lives which was discussed at federal and state constitutional conventions, codified in the United States Constitution and confirmed at the First Congress of the United States. This was the catalyst for the laws and policies that negatively influence the present-day criminal justice system that disproportionately impacts African Americans.

查看原文
分享 分享
微信好友 朋友圈 QQ好友 复制链接
本刊更多论文
我们创始人的恐惧非裔美国人被定罪的根源
非裔美国人被定罪的起源通常被认为是在南北战争之后,当时通过了一系列被称为 "黑法典 "的镇压性法律。然而,我认为这种刑事犯罪化的起源要早于80多年前的建国时代,特别是在英国弗吉尼亚州皇家总督于1775年发布公告,承诺释放所有为英军作战的被奴役者之后。建国者害怕黑人为获得自由和平等权利而采取任何行动。因此,开国者们将黑人生活的方方面面都定为犯罪,并在联邦和各州的制宪会议上进行了讨论,将其编入《美国宪法》,并在美国第一届国会上得到确认。这些法律和政策对当今的刑事司法系统产生了负面影响,对非裔美国人造成了极大的冲击。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
求助全文
约1分钟内获得全文 去求助
来源期刊
CiteScore
0.80
自引率
0.00%
发文量
30
期刊介绍: The Journal of African American Studies publishes original research on topics of professional and disciplinary concern for the social progress of people of African descent. This includes subjects concerning social transformations that impact the life chances of continental Africans and the African diaspora. Papers may be empirical, methodological, or theoretical; including literary criticism. In addition to original research, the journal publishes book reviews, commentaries, research notes, and occasional special thematic issues. African American Studies is an interdisciplinary field; diverse disciplinary methods and perspectives that include anthropology, art, economics, law, literature, management science, political science, psychology, sociology, social policy research, and others are appreciated.
期刊最新文献
The Flint Water Crisis and the Perpetuation of Environmental Racism in Flint, Michigan (2014–2018) Vicarious Discrimination Through Spouses and Mental Health Among Middle-Aged Black Adults Forging Bonds: Restorative Justice Approaches for African American Communities Our Founders’ Fears: The Roots of the Criminalization of African Americans “The Jim Crow Army Must Have a Scapegoat”: Justice, Cowardice, and the Court Martial of Lieutenant Leon Gilbert (Korea, 1950)
×
引用
GB/T 7714-2015
复制
MLA
复制
APA
复制
导出至
BibTeX EndNote RefMan NoteFirst NoteExpress
×
×
提示
您的信息不完整,为了账户安全,请先补充。
现在去补充
×
提示
您因"违规操作"
具体请查看互助需知
我知道了
×
提示
现在去查看 取消
×
提示
确定
0
微信
客服QQ
Book学术公众号 扫码关注我们
反馈
×
意见反馈
请填写您的意见或建议
请填写您的手机或邮箱
已复制链接
已复制链接
快去分享给好友吧!
我知道了
×
扫码分享
扫码分享
Book学术官方微信
Book学术文献互助
Book学术文献互助群
群 号:481959085
Book学术
文献互助 智能选刊 最新文献 互助须知 联系我们:info@booksci.cn
Book学术提供免费学术资源搜索服务,方便国内外学者检索中英文文献。致力于提供最便捷和优质的服务体验。
Copyright © 2023 Book学术 All rights reserved.
ghs 京公网安备 11010802042870号 京ICP备2023020795号-1