Conservatism In The 1970s

In the 1970s and 1980s, there was a growing trend of conservatism in the United States that aimed to push back against the prominence of liberals in the government in the decades following World War II. Increased tensions and the rise of inflation helped lead to a new form of conservatism that would gain traction in the 1980s. This movement’s main platform was to reduce government spending as much as possible. Labeled the Neo-Conservatism movement, it was highlighted by the election of populist candidate Ronald Reagan in the 1980 Presidential Election. He promised to institute many cuts to government programs in order to curb inflation during his campaign and followed through on many of those promises. Interestingly though, he authorized spending

This helped lead to the mass incarceration problem that still exists today; the prison population in 1980 was 500,000 people, and by 2000 that number jumped to 2,000,000 people, a 300% increase. Since this law was enacted, the number of Black people that were sentenced to federal prison increased from 50 per 100,000 people to 250 per 100,000 people. During this same time frame, the number of whites sentenced to federal prison virtually remained constant. This stemmed directly from the sentencing disparity, since crack was cheaper and more accessible to poor Americans, a disproportionate number of whom were Black. Additionally, a majority of the small-time drug dealers who were selling crack were black and poor, as it provided them with a steady source of income without requiring many skills or resources. Prior to the 1986 ADAA, the average drug sentence for Blacks was 11% higher than that for whites, but after 1986, that number jumped to 49%. Since 1986, 85% of those sentenced to crack cocaine offenses have been Black, even though about 67% of crack users are White or Hispanic. Currently, Blacks make up 15% of US drug users, but 37% of those arrested on drug charges, 59% of those convicted on said charges, and 74% of those sent to prison

While it was initially presented as a bill that would help curb the use of crack cocaine in the cities, it did so in an inequitable way that resulted in further harm being done to the average Black American. It created misleading narratives, or further pushed old ones (depending on the historian), that Blacks were more prone to crime. Many of these racial attitudes are still prevalent in the political dialogue today. A quote by Dr. Carl Hart best sums up the incarceration system today by saying that “Black males are no longer lynched for violating drug laws, but they are killed.” Looking at this incarceration problem, it is evident that the racist narratives used to gain political power were key to the disruption of Black American families that resulted in the current mass incarceration crisis. The belief that the most effective way to stop people from using drugs is through enforcement is not backed by data. Rather, a look at these numbers reveals how this act, which focused on enforcement only, was not effective and did not achieve its initial stated