During the birth of many nations, the founding governments struggle to find a perfect balance of economic stability and political bliss. It was no different after the American Revolutionary War ended in the United States. The Revolutionary War had a devastating economic impact on the newly established country ("Shay's Rebellion - Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center"). With the large acquired debt, the first thing the new government decided was to raise taxes on its citizens to make up for their economic loss. When most people gain a position in any government system they quickly forget that it was the so called, “little people” that got them there ("Daniel Shays"). This very idea of ignoring a group of individuals needs is what …show more content…
This rebellion aroused from a small group of Massachusetts farmers, who were infuriated because of high taxation and the silencing of their cries for help ("Shay's Rebellion - Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center"). One farmer rose to power to lead this rebellion. His name was Daniel Shays and like many other farmers he was a Revolution War veteran. These veterans were upset because they never got paid for their service and when they came home, they were faced with bills and taxes ("Shays' Rebellion." American Centuries). The state of Massachusetts wasn’t the only states struggling at this time. All states had debt to pay back from the war, but Massachusetts had a monstrous amount of debt because they were more involved in the war than any other state. With their farms at risked of being taken away by local sheriffs, the Shaysites, the rebels, decided to do something about it. The Rebellion exasperatedly went to a bunch of public buildings like courthouses, and further the threat of farms being taken away from farmers (Tilva). Because of all this ruckus they made known that it was time for a change and it was needed fast. The Shaysites and Shay himself, were stopped by an army created by rich merchant on the coast of Massachusetts. Majority of the people were put in jail and charged with treason and two were actually hanged ("Daniel Shays"). All this controversy was caused by the current document of government, The Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation was the first written government document in the United States. In the Articles of Confederation, the majority of the power was given to the states, and this left the federal government with hardly authority. Since this was the case, there was no president or federal court. The states at the time were acting more as individual countries instead of the union it was suppose to be ("Shay's Rebellion - Historic