How did Shays' Rebellion impact the Revolutionary War?

Answer 1

it impacted the revolutionary war some u c Shays' Rebellion happened while we were still trying 2 make laws but we were in a economic depression, crop prices were down, farmers couldnt pay taxes, also the state goverment began to start seize farms and selling for taxes

P.S. Shay was a former war hero

Answer 2

At the conclusion of the Revolutionary War times were very hard for soldiers and their impoverished families. The problem affected soldiers in every state. The script the soldiers had received for pay was almost worthless. There was no strong central government to deal with the debts of the war, the individual states were not contributing enough and there were foreign loans to pay.

The Massachusetts state legislature was composed mostly of merchants from Boston and other shipping towns and cities. The farmers of Western Massachusetts were suffering and their taxes were unreasonably high. Many were deeply in debt and were facing serious legal penalties that included prison. The farmers resented the fact that the state's tax laws favored trade at the expense of farming. Debtors were sold into servitude and their farms were taken. Many soldier/farmers joined a revolt led by Daniel Shays a former Army captain from Pelham. They demanded paper money to pay their debts.

There were several skirmishes and the insurgents took possession of the courthouses including those in in Springfield and Northampton. In late January, 1787, Shays' men faced an army funded by Boston merchants when they tried to seize control of the Springfield Arsenal, a military supply depot that was scouted and approved by George Washington in 1777. Several insurgents were killed. After several months the rebellion lost its momentum and the insurgents were eventually captured and tried for treason. Fourteen were convicted and sentenced to death but were subsequently pardoned or served short prison sentences. A newly elected legislature eased the situation by allowing soldiers to pay taxes using their soldiers' notes. The times gradually became more prosperous and some of the bitterness subsided.

Shays and his followers believed they were simply carrying on the spirit of the Revolution. Thomas Jefferson, then minister to France, agreed with them. "A little rebellion now and then is a good thing," he wrote to a friend. "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Washington did not agree with Jefferson. He welcomed the failure of Shays's Rebellion and he compared it to his having to use force to prevent a military coup by a group of army officers under his command. He believed citizens could not take up arms whenever they felt something was not done correctly or they had a grievance.

The significance of Shays' Rebellion has been viewed differently by historians of different time periods. However it has come to be recognized today as one of the factors that forced a young nation to think carefully about its form of government. It created public support for a central government and a federal constitution.

Shays' rebellion showed that the government under the Articles of Confederation was too weak to repel the insurgency and was unable to enforce laws reasonably (unlike the oppressive taxation and seizure of farms) and effectively. The governor of Massachusetts asked for help from the national government but the government under the Articles was unable to act. Although the rebellion eventually collapsed the problems continued. A convention was eventually called to strengthen the Articles.

Springfield Technical Community College in Springfield, Massachusetts hosted a symposium entitled "Shays Rebellion and the Making of a Nation" in 2010. STCC and the Springfield Armory Museum, a National Historic Site, share the same address in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Answer 3

Shays' Rebellion, which consisted of armed protests against taxes in Massachusetts from August 1786 to June 1787, is credited with encouraging adoption of the U.S. Constitution by the states.

Economic difficulties stemming from the Revolutionary War were perceived to show weaknesses in federal government oversight of the states, which generated public disapproval of the Articles of Confederation that left states to be more independent in rule and economy.

The duration of this period of armed conflict between citizens and military brought about public desire for a stronger federal government in order to avoid future conflict, as well as future problems of the same type that led to Shays' Rebellion.

Answer 4

Shays' Rebellion changed opinion in favor of the people who wanted the Constitution to structure a stronger central.

Answer 5

Nothing