What was Shay's Rebellion and why was it important?

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pohnpei397 | College Teacher | (Level 3) Distinguished Educator

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Shays’s Rebellion was a rebellion among farmers in Massachusetts that began in 1786.  The rebellion is important because it is seen as one of the major factors that led to the writing of the new Constitution.

When the United States first became independent, its constitution was called the Articles of Confederation.  This constitution set up a government in which the states had essentially all of the power and the federal government had very little.  During that time, the economy of the US was not very strong.  The weakness of the US economy led to a situation in which many farmers ended up in debt.  As their debts got bigger, their creditors (usually rich bankers from the cities) tried to get back the money they had lent by foreclosing on the farmers.  In Massachusetts, this process caused farmers, led by Daniel Shays, to rebel. 

This rebellion, along with other factors, helped to persuade rich Americans that a new constitution was needed.  They were afraid that the state governments were being dominated by poorer people who would institute bad policies such as the debt forgiveness that Shays and his people wanted.  They wanted a stronger national government and one that would be more insulated from the desires of the masses.

This is why Shays’s Rebellion ended up being very important.  It scared American elites enough that they pushed for a new constitution.  That is how we ended up with the Constitution that we now have.

Here's a good video that explains and contextualizes Shay's Rebellion:

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