First time having manual brakes, are mine bad?

I just got my Dart and it is the first vehicle I have driven with manual brakes. Disc front, drum rear. I have to stand on the brake pedal, hard, just to come to a complete stop. Does that seem normal? I am ordering drilled slotted rotors for the front, new pads, then new shoes for the rear. Going to give them a good bleed and go from there. But at this point I have no idea why someone would want manual brakes!