Shays’ Rebellion was an uprising in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787 caused by excessive land taxation, high legal costs, and economic depression following the American Revolution. This rebellion was only one of many protests that took place during this period.
The dissatisfied, who were mainly poor farmers threatened with loss of their property and imprisonment for debt, were headed by Daniel Shays, a former captain in the American Revolution army. They demanded protective legislation, the abolition of the court of common pleas, and a radical reduction of taxes. In 1786, armed mobs prevented the sitting of the courts at Northampton, Worcester, Great Barrington, and Concord; and Shays, with his followers, broke up a session of the state supreme court in Springfield. Shays and his men marched into Springfield to seize the federal arsenal, but they were held back by a force of militia under the American general Benjamin Lincoln. The rebels fled toward Petersham, where they were finally defeated. Most of the men were pardoned later in the year; Shays, condemned to death, escaped to Vermont and was pardoned a year later.
Shays' rebellion and the other protests forced the leaders and politicians of the young nation to take note. The existing Articles of Confederation, which provided for the basic laws of the nation, were not an effective means of governing. How influential were these protests to the nation's leaders in their formulation and ratification of the Constitution?
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These acts of rebellion were very influential to the nation's leaders in their formulation and ratification of the Constitution. The farmers were acting within their rights according to the Declaration of Independence. The nation's leaders realized that there would have to be a compromise.
I believe that the protests were extremely influential to the nation's leaders. Farmers were treated very poorly and were left with high taxes because of inflation. There was a lot of war debt to be paid off. The protests from them were very understandable considering the circumstances.
One of the rights outlined in the Declaration of Independence was the right to revolt against disgreeable government. Because of this right, making sure that the people were happy became a nag, but a priority. Shay's rebellion and the others that followed were extremely influencial in showing this to the powers that were.
I don't think the rebellions went unnoticed, but I also believe that changes would have taken place eventually anyway. With the United States being so new they were going to try to make things work the best they could.
One thing that hasn't really been mentioned yet, and was extremely important, was the lack of ability by the states to bring the rebellion to a halt. It demonstrated a very real lack of strength and unity between the states, and the need for a stronger national military and government. I believe the rebellion highlighted many existing problems under the articles.
The protests that took place during the Shays Rebellion were very influential in the new edition of the constitution. It established problems with the new nation such as their deficiency of strength and unity, and highlighted the colonists right to protest and revolt.
Shay's Rebellion brought the changes needed earlier, i believe the changes would have been needed and brought about no matter what, this just advanced them. The declaration of independance allowed citizens to revolt if they felt the government was not treating them fairly, which was the case with Shay's rebellion.
The protests were influential because it made the Congress see that they were acting like Great Britian and wanting to tax on every little item. I belive that Shay's Rebelion had signifigance to it for this reason. It made it so states could not have tax just those who had money.
Shay's rebellion is a very good example of how states had to much power. With no real strong, central government their was little they could do to stop the rebellion forcing a private militia to do it.
Shay's rebellion wasn't the first ime Americans had revolted. The Boston Tea Party, Boston Massacre, Stono Rebellion, and the Declaration of Independence itself are some examples of American resistence to oppression before the Revolutionary War. The Declaration of Independence set a legal precedence for Americans, showing them that if they were unhappy with their government, it was their right to revolt, and Shay's Rebellion followed this ideology. The debt from the war had made things so bad in America that inflation was high, which made taxes high and paper money basically worthless. Since the speculators wouldn't accept money, and the farmers had no gold, they were extremely in debt and impoverished. Their quality of life was low and they felt as though the rights they had just fought a war to obtain were being squashed. They certainly didn't feel like they were being allowed to "pursue happiness". This is why this rebellion happened, and it forced the early American government to take note. This helped to shape the way America is still governed today.
I think it was just the times that influenced this rebellion. If you think about it, our country was coming off a revolutionary victory and that attitude was still with many of them. The taxation was nothing new, but the new government had established that a persons duty is to overthrow their govermnet is they needed to.
These were influential to the nation's leaders because it helped them to realize that there wasn't much of a judicial system in place yet. The nation's leaders also realized that the farmers were dealing with high taxes and not much means of paying them. It also made the leaders realize that they would need a stronger government than the one that the Articles of Confederation presented to them.
Shay's Rebellion was an act of rebelling against the government. It was a right in the Declaration of Independence. I believe that Shay's Rebellion brought changes that were needed earlier in time because of people's efforts. On the other hangd, this helped the colonists realize that the Articles of Confederation would just not work. The states had too much power and started to resemble Britain's government.
Shays rebellion is one of many examples of how a free country works. When a group of people are dissatisified with something, they argue and rebel until the goverment fixes it.
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