Reading response - Essay Example

Homestead Act The Homestead acts of the United s federal government were a set of laws that governed the acquisition of land at little or no cost. The laws were based on the giving grants totaling 160 acres of unappropriated federal land. The land must have been within the borders of the public land states. The act was initially proposed as ‘Free Soil” policy of the northerners. The first act of the Homestead Acts was signed by President Abraham Lincoln as law on May 29, 1862. In the law, anyone who had not taken arms against the US and was 21 years and above could apply for the federal land grant.

However, there was a residency requirement attached to the law. Dawe ActThe Dawe Act is related to the Homestead Act because both of them address land issues in the US. Dawe’s Act was enacted on February 8, 1887 and it was established to address the distribution of the Indian reservation Land among the individual tribesmen. Sponsored by Sen Henry Dawes, the act focused on ensuring that farmers receive land using a set suitability criteria. The inclusion of the provision to sale the public land after allotment led to its passage in the congress.

Supreme Court rulingThe Supreme Court influenced the enactment of the 14th and 15th amendment by giving a wrong interpretation of the amendment. The move led to the violation of the rights of the people by the different states within the U.S. the decision of the court in the slaughterhouse incidence set precedent for the states to violate the rights of the people based on gender and race.Response to the articleAfter accruing wealth, Andrew Carnegie developed the gospel of wealth which focused on the development of an inclusive society where wealth would be ensured in the betterment of the society.

The gospel was put into practice by him. Immediately after selling his company, he decided to use the money to upgrade and improve the education and the health sector. The move led to greater improvement of the society through provision of better health and education services. The gospel of wealth by Carnegie is an effective tool that can be used to solve the inequality in the world because it advocates for the sharing and using of the wealth in improving the society. Sharing of the wealth through the development of the foundations is vital because it ensures that different echelons of the society are able to access better service.

The gospel of wealth focuses on trying to help others with the wealth created or generated. The focus of wealth accumulation should not be personal glory, but to develop the society through funding of better service unit and education system. The argument of Carnegie is important because it influences how the wealth should be viewed and used. The gospel of wealth is similar to gospel of shared by many religions across the world. The argument of Carnegie is vital when addressing the challenge of poverty and inequality in the society.

The gospel of wealth is an elaboration of the need for the society to develop harmony and equity in the society. In fact, the redistribution of wealth is important in the development of a better society.