US Gov Research Paper

The 16th amendment was created to give government the right to tax citizens based on their income. The 16th amendment was created first as a strategy by the Republicans to trick the Democrats, but it backfired and was actually passed. At first the public was against the idea, but after they thought about it they liked it. It helped be more fair to the rich and poor. The poor got lowered taxes, and the rich that made more income were taxed more, which helped balance the economy a little more. It is still in affect today, every working person has some type of income tax, and the higher their pay the more their tax is.

The Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan tried to pass the 17th amendment, but it got turned down. The 17th amendment was meant to let the Senate be elected by popularity, so that corruption would not be an affect on who the Senate were. It would have benefited the U.S. because then the power would be even more in the people then the government. 

Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act was one of the first changes since 1897. It was signed by Taft, and it lowered 650 tariff schedules, raised 220, and left 1,150 unchanged. Today it has been revised and there are many variations, but it was a good start.