1.2.

4 Practice No free Country has ever been without parties, which are a natural offspring of Freedom, said James Madison. Later, he went on to say, "The Constitution itself ... must be an unfailing source of party distinctions." Madison realized the necessity of a constitutional convention, especially due to the consequences of several events. The constitutional convention was assembled due to the weak Articles of Confederation, the economic outcome of the American Revolution, and Shays Rebellion. After declaring independence, the colonies needed some way to govern themselves. The Continental Congress produced the Articles of Confederation and Perpetual Union in 1777, yet this first constitution was deeply flawed. It was purposely weakened, with no executive branch and little power for Congress itself. One of the most undependable restrictions was that Congress could not levy taxes or regulate commerce among the states. This government was unorganized and inadequate. The United States spent hundreds of millions of dollars on the American Revolution, with loans from other countries and the use of paper money. It would take decades for debts to the individual states and the other countries to be repaid. As veterans of the war returned home, they often were left with no jobs, no homes, and debt upon any land they may have owned. This was a focal point of Shays Rebellion, as Daniel Shays himself was a former army captain. This mob protested against foreclosures, and proved that change could occur through collective action. Before the constitutional convention, Congress was dependent on the states as its source for money. But the Articles of Confederation also need to be revised or redone, and a better national system needed to be created in order to deal with incidents like Shays Rebellion. As

Madison said, the delegates of the convention strove for an unfailing source of party distinctions.