Early american history - Essay Example

This followed a drastic change in the reforms at that time in America. The reforms that were made at that time included the following changes: All powers of legislation were transferred to a central body which was the Congress and constituted of the Senate as well as House of Representatives. Members from the House of Representative were to be reselected every two years and their qualifications were the basis of their selection. A minimum age of 25 was decided for political representation and the House of Representatives had the authority to choose their senior officials.

There were to be two Senators from each state and each one will have equal representation. An annual meeting of the Congress would be held at the end of the year for discussing issues that arose in that year. Each House of Representatives was responsible for its actions and for regulating the behavior of its members, and had the right to punish or dismiss them if they did not follow the rules, regardless of their position. The House of Representatives shall be responsible for originating bills and the approved ones (the ones that had a simple 2/3 majority) shall be presented to the President for approval.

The Congress had power to collect taxes etc. The judicial power will be entrusted to the Supreme Court before which a series of smaller courts would need to be passed. Congress will not make any kind of laws that prohibit people from practicing the religion of their own choice or hinder their freedom of any kind- speech or expression. Everyone will have rights such as the right to speak regardless of power and authority, race, religion or any other means of discrimination. Everyone was to be considered as having the same importance (Conlin, 1877).

All in all, the source we are talking about here was not created for people who only want to read history because it is in their course work or just for the sake of it. The source is created by Joseph R. Conlin; students actually enjoy reading it and read it by choice instead of force. The source basically describes the improvements that took place in the political scenario of America in the late 19th century but is does not tell us what America was before those changes occurred. The source tells all the improvements that were made at that time when changes were demanded by the minorities who were not treated equally, hence reforms were made so that political issues can be resolved, and there are central bodies that will deal with policies and procedures where everyone can participate with a certain qualification and each person has the right to get equal representation in the government regardless of position.

Policies and procedures had become organized and more systematic and now there was a fixed procedure to get demands accepted. If two thirds of the Senate agrees to a certain point then that bill can be passed and presented to the President who may approve or disprove it because he has the final power. Moreover, courts also became very systematic and well organized. Supreme Court was the highest and any case would have to pass through the smaller courts to reach the Supreme Court which gave the final verdict (Conlin, 1877).

Ultimately, it can be sad that the source explains the improvements very explicitly but only talks of the past very implicitly, if at