Essay On Shay's Rebellion

The conflict and tension between how to rule the country started occurring soon after the Revolutionary War. After the war, Congress ran the country as a weak confederate government that attempted to unite the different states. After the Revolutionary War, when the government was first set up under the Articles of Confederation, most of the power went to the states and an intentionally weak central government was formed. This was because Americans were fearful of a strong central government after just severing ties with Great Britain. Shay’s Rebellion would be the first act to challenge America’s weak central governing system. Shay’s Rebellion occurred at a time when money issues were a very serious problem for many of the states. In Massachusetts there was no money and people in the state were paying very high taxes. A group of farmers in the state, led by Daniel Shay, who were losing their lands due to foreclosure, revolted by closing the courts which, prevented the foreclosures of any more properties. A private army funded by wealthy residents of the state eventually ended the rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion would cause many Americans to question if a weak government could be effective in running the United States. After Shay’s Rebellion a group of delegates met in Philadelphia and decided that the …show more content…
Anti-Federalists feared a powerful government would oppress the people. They argued that the new constitution was too much like the powerful British Monarchy. Anti-federalist thought the power should remain with the states and local governments. Anti-Federalists usually lived in the South and were ordinary farmers and immigrants. Anti-Federalists felt that the states should be able to manage their own revenue and spend it as they saw fit. Prominent Anti-Federalists were Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, Patrick Henry, George Mason and Samuel