Understanding the historical background of racism in the criminal justice system is important to understand the present day situation. Looking at historical trends reveals that many of the same patterns have repeated, such as white Americans using punishment to maintain social and economic control, and developing rituals to ensure these patterns became engrained in society. Overall, racism has shifted from explicit racism to implicit bias, as the culture of the United States has changed. This section is broken down into the following subsections, providing a chronological overview of the punishments and racism within each of the times: