Articles of Confederation
and
Shay's Rebellion
Articles of Confederation
üThe Articles of Confederation was the name of the first government of the United States.
üIt had been started back in 1776 in the Continental Congress, and finally approved by all the states in 1781.
The Articles of Confederation were weak, on purpose
üAmericans were afraid of a strong national government. After all, they had fought a war over it. So, the government they decided on was weak.
üThe national government under the Articles did not have the power to tax or enforce laws.
üThe national government did have the power to wage war, but since they couldn’t tax, there was no way to pay for it.
üThe government could also issue money, but the states didn’t have to use it. The states had their own money.
Weaknesses of the Articles
üSince the national government could not tax, and the national money was worthless, debt became a huge problem.
üDebt = owing money
üThe biggest problem was that the soldiers who had fought the war, had not been paid, and they were mad.
üMost of the soldiers were farmers, and they were unable to pay their debts.
Shay's Rebellion
üFarmers were taken into court, then to jail, and their land was taken away from them because they were in debt.
üIn 1786, an armed revolt by farmers against the state government took place.
üThe revolt was led by Daniel Shays (former captain in the Continental Army).
üThe farmers began to forcibly prevent the courts from meeting so they couldn’t take anyone else’s land away or put them in jail.
üEarly in 1787, the Governor sent 4,400 men against the rebels and the rebels were defeated.
üShays and the other rebels were pardoned. (An official act of forgiveness)
Results of Shay's Rebellion
üShays’ Rebellion showed the leaders of America that the Articles of Confederation were too weak, and a stronger national government was needed.
Conclusion
üWhy did the Founding Fathers Choose a Confederation plan of government?
üThey feared that a strong central government would create tyranny, and stamp out the peoples natural God given rights.
üWhy Did the Founding Fathers believe the Articles needed to be replaced by the US Constitution?
üThe nation needed to function as ONE united country & not 13 small unorganized nations.
üShay’s rebellion proved the need to strengthen the government.