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Shay's rebellion Americans won the victory in the Independence War but capitalists tried to use the results of war in their own interests. Although Hamilton and Madison wanted to create constitutional monarchy, Washington and other political leaders were afraid that proclamation of monarchy will arouse the rebellion of people and army. The taxes increased and inflation was huge. A lot of farmers had debts. Import of English commodity after conclusion of peace resulted to the bankruptcy of peasants. The prisons of New England were full of debtors.
The Rebellion started with petitions to the government for paper currency, lower taxes, and judicial reform. When this failed, the farmers took more drastic measures. The first target of the Rebellion was the Court of Common Pleas at Northampton, which an armed body of farmers kept from sitting on August 29 th. (Shays Rebellion, p. 1) The revolts of Americans started in New Hampshire, Vermont and Road Island. They demanded to release farmers from custody and to restore the coinage. The rebellion under commandment of Daniel Shays took place in the autumn of 1786. Farmer Daniel Shays received the captain rank during the Independence war.
Armed detachments of people captured administrative court buildings, destroyed debt obligations and released arrested peasants and farmers from custody. They demanded to cancel debts, to announce the lands the community property and to give the poor peasants landed property free of charge. Thousands of farmers took part in this rebellion. Land owners and capitalists demanded to suppress the rebellion immediately and collected funds for equipment of punitive detachments. The rebels tried to capture huge arsenal but were dispersed by cannonades and were divided into small detachments. Shays had to surrender together with his detachment in February 1787.
He was sentenced to death with 13 leaders of rebellion. Yet, his popularity was so high that the government was afraid to execute the death sentence and sentenced him to imprisonment. According to words of G. Washington (the head of Constitutional Convent), the Shays rebellion became an additional argument to create strong federal power to liquidate disorders. He wrote to J.
Madison: We dont have power to manage them, so how can we guarantee a man his life, freedom and property? John Madison agreed with him: We should include in the Constitution an article that guarantees our States calmness. This article should protect them from internal and external dangers. What was the impact of Shays rebellion? The political leaders added to American Constitution the standard about peculiarities of legislative regulation. This standard was added to the text of Main Law of USA (as well as direct impulse for calling of a Philadelphia convent and adoption of Constitution 1787).
Shays' Rebellion became a recurring example in the debates among framers of the Constitution, encouraging some to favor the "Virginia plan" (which called for an unprecedented and powerful central government) over the alternative "New Jersey plan" (which seemed too favorable to state sovereignty). (Calliope Website, p. 1) Although this rebellion was suppressed, it helped to change the intentions of upper-class society and political leaders concerning the future governmental structure of the United States. Political leaders realized necessity to create the governmental unity that will be stronger that confederation. The other circumstances also contributed to changes: improvement of economical relations, necessity to increase military power of government needed for defense and capture of new lands (especially for final subjection of Indians). The Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia struggled to create a stronger central government that would "establish justice and insure domestic tranquillity. " Shays' Rebellion is considered the one of the leading causes in the formation of the United States. Bibliography: Calliope Website. 2005.
Shays' Rebellion (1786 - 87) and the Constitution. Retrieved February 10, 2005. web Shays Rebellion Website. 2005. Shays Rebellion.
Retrieved February 10, 2005. web
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