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A Brief Look at Events, Causes, and Effects | Layal

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HISTORY SHAY’S REBELLION
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Shays’ Rebellion

Over the course of history, there have been many rebellions and protests that have

completely changed how events occurred. Without these interferences, many things wouldn’t

have happened yet, or have happened at all. Women wouldn’t have as much rights as they do

now, Great Britain would probably still rule North America, and most importantly, the Articles

of Confederation wouldn’t have been revised and removed as quickly as it had. Shay’s

Rebellion, like many historic events, had causes, and effects. Shays’ Rebellion was a very

important event in history that has set a course that was meant to be taken in the future.

Shays’ Rebellion was an rebellion of about 1,000 Massachusetts farmers lead by Daniel

Shays [1]. It started as riots and protests, but it quickly escalated . “Shays’ Rebellion began on
[2]

August 29, 1786, and ended on February 27, 1787” . During Shays’ Rebellion, the farmers
[2]

tried to seize arms from a state warehouse, and when that happened, the state called out the

militia . Shays and other leaders were arrested

[1]
, but he escaped and was later pardoned
[1]
.
[4]

Others were captured and some of them were sentenced to death, but Washington and others

didn’t agree to this, so eventually, pardons were granted [4].

Shays’ Rebellion didn’t occur out of the blue, of course. There was a reason, and in my

opinion, the farmers had a right to be mad. At the time, a severe economic depression hit the

U.S. In Massachusetts, the farmers were hit badly. Crop prices declined, and many were unable

to pay their taxes. In order to get those taxes back, the state government began taking farms and

selling them. Many farmers were angry and demanded that the legislature stop the farm sales,

and that the state issue more paper money to make it easier to get loans . The legislatures took
[1]

no action, so the farmers took their own way of action to get what they wanted.

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Shays’ Rebellion brought the attention of leading Americans that a stronger central

government was needed to hold up against future public unrest. A weak central government

could not control a large protest if one occurred. Since the Articles of Confederation called for a

limited central and strong state government, the Articles had to be revised. The Articles of

Confederation already had many problems, like no power of national taxation, no uniform

system of currency, and Congress could not regulate trade . Instead of being revised, the
[3]

Articles had to be completely rewritten. Shays’ Rebellion was merely a wakeup call to do so.

Shays’ Rebellion is an often overlooked topic and event that should be credited for the

Constitution we have today. Without it, the Articles of Confederation wouldn’t have been

revised and rewritten as quickly as it had, or maybe even at all. Shays’ Rebellion had causes, and

effects. It was a very important event that completely changed the course of our nation forever.

Whenever Shays’ Rebellion comes up, know that even though it wasn’t a great time for the

country, it helped it become the nation it is today.

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Bibliography

Title Picture

https://libcom.org/history/shays-rebellion-1786

[1]
“Shays’ Rebellion”

Davidson, James W. America: History of Our Nation. Boston: Prentice Hall, 2007. Print.

[2]
“Shays Rebellion”

http://www.government-and-constitution.org/history-us-political-parties/shays-rebellion.htm

[3]
“America’s First Failure at Government: The Articles of Confederation”

http://www.ushistoryscene.com/uncategorized/articlesofconfederation/

[4]
“Shays’ Rebellion”

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h363.html

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