Two different views, two different types of people, but both share the same purpose to help the country. The American revolution was successfully won, but the struggle to on how to govern this newborn country was up for debate. The Articles of Confederation were instituted, but soon they proved to be inadequate to govern the United States after the incident with Shay’s rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion was a group composed of farmers and veterans who were overtaxed and the government had not compensated their efforts in the American Revolution. This group planned to overthrow the government by raiding an arsenal, but the state militia from Massachusetts was able to help. The problem here was that the government had no standing army and depended on the states to provide protection, and the government was too weak to force the states for help. The Constitution was drafted and the Federalists wanted it to be ratified, but the Anti-Federalists were …show more content…
Having a weak government was unacceptable for the Federalists, so they pushed for a strong central government. Popular figures who supported this side were: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison. According to Scofield, P. (2011), the Federalists Papers were written by the pseudonym Publius to spread the idea of ratifying the Constitution,“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers”. The best way to distinguish a Federalists would be their want of a strong government, and they admitted that giving up individual rights were worth keeping the country united. Publius plainly states that it was “undeniable” that the people “cede” some of their libraries for the good of the
In 1786, Daniel Shays, like other farmers, was with his inability to pay high debts. So, out of anger, formed a group of farmers who were frustrated too. The national government didn’t have a right or means to raise any army, so the governor of Massachusett formed an army on his own. New laws were drafted, which offered welcome relief to all of the debtors. But in the end, the rebellion helped highlight issues with the articles of confederation.
Shay’s Rebellion thought that the Articles of confederation was not strong enough and that there should be more power in the central government. The Articles of confederation was seen weak because, it revealed the economic issues and taxation, the lack of leadership, and not being efficient in making laws. In Shay’s rebellion raising the tax on farmers to pay off debt was a weakness. Farmers had taken out loans due to shortages of the revolution, and were being taxed by state.
The articles of confederation, shays rebellion, and the U.S. constitution are all related to each other in a certain way. The articles of confederation were approved by the congress then ratified by the states. It was an attempt to unite the new country and form a government. Shays rebellion revealed the article’s weaknesses. It showed that the country had economic difficulties and couldn’t raise an army.
The Shaysites quickly fell apart, but the social reasons on why this rebellion happened still remained. This made people realize that they needed to develop a stronger constitution. The Articles of Confederation was unable to keep this uprising from happening, which turned out to be a clear problem. This rebellion proved that the United States needed a strong central government that was able to handle uprisings before they got too out of
When looking at words Thomas Jefferson used in historical documents, conclusions can be drawn about what he might think today about protestors. Many groups choose to voice their needs by means of protest, and I believe Jefferson would support these actions based on two of his writings: the Declaration of Independence and a letter to a friend about Shay’s Rebellion. An example of evidence to support my claim comes first from the Declaration of Independence, “that whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends (right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness), it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it (government). Jefferson shows a strong belief in this line that it is ultimately up to the people
Shays Rebellion served as the final nail in the coffin for the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation was America's first national document, it came with many weaknesses. One of the major weaknesses was that the federal government was too weak and therefore could not enforce laws. The Continental Congress borrowed money to fight in both the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War therefore were in debt.
The Articles of Confederation provided the United States with a predominantly ineffective government that could not deal with problems at home and abroad. The country was unable to regulate commerce and effectively deal with foreign nations from 1781 to 1789. Although there were some advantages to the first constitution, the issues caused by the document greatly outweighed the benefits. The Articles of Confederation limited America’s ability to deal problems within its own borders and with foreign nations.
At some point our National Government was so weak that we were unable to prevent violence and stop protest. The Shay's Rebellion proved that as well. What used to be our national government was the Article of Confederation. Though after the disaster of the Shay's Rebellion, they decided that they needed a change. They decided to revise the Articles of Confederation and they came up with a whole new document called the Constitution.
To the population, war is when you are told what to fight for, and a revolution is when you decide for yourself. On April 19, 1775 was the day that America had decided for itself that we needed to be independent, the start of the American Revolution. The American revolution was over in about eight years. After the war Americans had decided to turn its focus inward and decide on what government they wanted and what America as a country would become. That is how the articles of confederation came to be on March 1, 1781 and of course like everything it had it’s pros, cons and results.
The Articles of Confederation couldn’t deal adequately with many problems that arose during the 1780’s. Some of the problems include National Security and Currency. On the other hand, The Articles of Confederation did have some admirable traits to it. Such as the Ordinances of 1787 and 1785. Though the Articles had some praiseworthy achievements, it did come with some major complications.
The founding fathers created a weak National government with limited power over the states. Hence, under the Article of Confederation the structure of the government was vulnerable and hopeless. In effect, the Shays’s rebellion helped to recreate a new form of government that lead to the separation of power under the Constitution. The shays’ rebellion was a wake call for delegates, so they could adopt a new form of government under the Constitution.
The Articles of Confederation go through a long and difficult process. After the Independence War in 1776, the 13 states adopted the Articles of Confederation; it could not solve the problems in early time of America completely. It played an important role in the history of America, because these Articles influenced the Constitutional Convention and promoted the development of history of the United States. In history, Columbus discovered America land.
Shay's Rebellion resulted in a wake up call to people that their "government" framework at the time had more weaknesses than pros and that it desperately needed to be revised.
Settlers in the Western parts of the Unites States during the eighteenth century, sometimes looked to violent protest to express their grievances of political, economic, and social issues. The March of the Paxon Boys, Regulator Movement, Shay’s Rebellion, and The Whiskey Rebellion were all examples of settlers expressing their grievances. The Paxton Boys were frontiersmen of Scots-Irish origin from along the Susquehanna River in central Pennsylvania. They formed a group to retaliate in 1763 against local American Indians in the aftermath of the French and Indian War and Pontiac's Rebellion. However, this group of men were racial and had political unrest during this time.
Most of the federalist were either debaters, farmers, or in the lower class. For example, Diffen claimed, “Anti-federalists were closely tied to rural landowners and farmers who were conservative and staunchly independent” (“Anti-Federalist vs Federalist”). In other words, this meant the anti federalists followers were of the common people, so the anti federalists wanted a government that fit the majority of the population. The anti federalists did not want rich men to represent the government because it was similar to the government in England. Most of the anti federalists did not want the government to have all of the control, but wanted the nation to have certain principal regardless of power.