Past and Present Society

The eighth amendment gives Americans protection from cruel and unusual punishment, but sometimes society tends to be cruel and unusual. For hundreds of years there has been racism throughout the country. In society today, we all have our own racial identity, which in many cases influences who we are, as well as how we are perceived in society.
Thinking back on my family tree I know that I come form an English/German background. Many of my ancestors came from England. Jon Ellis, an ancestor from my father's side of the family, was shipped to America from England in chains on the Mayflower.…