Mark Twain once said, "America is the only country that has gone from barbarism to decadence with no civilization in between." Who could disagree with him? Show me another country where someone would walk into an elementary school with the intent of killing as many children as possible. Compared to other first world countries, America is the leading nation in terms of violence. We have people killing innocent victims without reason or regret. Criminals always seem sad to have been caught. They rarely turn themselves in and let justice prevail. And isn't that a certain irony for you? America is one of the richest countries in the world. Yet even the poorest of the poor, with nothing, can sit in a corner and beg. Which still allows him to survive. I'm not saying that every American will stab someone in their lifetime. But we definitely kill each other a lot (OJJDP, 2013). Even one of the most popular video games is based on running around and shooting each other. As explored in this study, three main issues are critically linked to the amount of violence among Americans. As a country born from blood. The spirit of this country is to shoot first and then run away and hide in the woods. Enactment of possessive laws under democratic leadership; the government attempted to control the people and failed miserably twice. All they did was create a thriving criminal element. Racism and poverty have helped fuel the “kill or be killed” attitude. With cities becoming larger than any time in history; the fire burns hotter than ever. Roots of American violence, laws that produced gangsters, poverty and racism Ever since the Americas were discovered, we have fought each other. We used t...... half of the paper ......nce, and the American Revolution. New York: Routledge. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, (1998). Youth gangs and violence. Retrieved December 17, 2013, from: http://www.ojjdp.gov/jjbulletin/9808/youth.htmlKoseff,A. (2013). Protesters gather in Washington over the Trayvon Martin case. Retrieved December 17, 2013, from: http://articles.latimes.com/2013/jul/20/nation/la-na-nn-trayvon-martin-protest-washington-dc-20130720Morrison, H. (2012). Sandy Hook: America's Culture of Violence. Retrieved December 17, 2013, from: http://mondediplo.com/blogs/sandy-hook-america-s-culture-of-violenceOJJDP, (2013). Section I: Gun Violence in the United States. Retrieved December 17, 2013, from: http://www.ojjdp.gov/pubs/gun_violence/sect01.htmlShmoop University, (2013). The French, the Indians and the Americans. Retrieved December 17, 2013, from: http://www.shmoop.com/american-revolution/politics.html