Shays’s Rebellion was an armed uprising in the state of Massachusetts, led by American Revolution Captain Daniel Shays, from 1786 to 1787. Approximately 4,000 farmers protested against tax increases, levied by the state to pay off the Revolutionary War debt. The already struggling farmers, who were in debt, demanded that the government provide tax relief. Throughout the state, protestors began shutting down the courts, where their debts were normally collected. The farmers, who rioted against all those in support of the government, desperately attempted to take over the government’s arsenal in Springfield. However, by the winter of 1787 the state militia defeated most of the rebels, causing many to flee. With the rebellion drawing to a close, …show more content…
in response to state taxes, though the drastic measures taken by the Shaysites caught the attention of the public. People began to realize the Articles of Confederation, the current constitution, were ineffective and viewed the rebellion as an embarrassment for the new country. The same form of rebellion caused by Americans under the British was now occurring in the U.S., causing many to question if a democracy would work. It was apparent to many that a stronger national government was needed. By May of 1787, representatives from each state gathered at the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia to reform the government and make it more powerful. Nationalists, like James Madison, began to build their case for a strong centralized government. Shays’s Rebellion exposed the flaws in having a weak federal government. Congress’s inability to tax or close the ports to British goods, only worsened the debt of the Revolutionary War and burdened citizens, like the farmers, with the responsibility of paying of the debt. American ports were importing a large amount of goods from England, who would not let American exports into British ports. As a result, money flowed out of the U.S. to British merchants. The efflux of money coupled with the government’s inability to collect taxes from states left the war debt unpaid and the creditors without compensation. Taking this into consideration, the framers of the new Constitution gave the Congress the power to regulate commerce and tax the people. They also allowed Congress to raise armies; a privilege given in response to the federal government being unable to quash the year-long rebellion, which was eventually ended by a militia. To balance the power of Congress the members of the Constitutional Convention added two other elements to the government, a supreme court to interpret the new constitution and a president to make decisions during crises,