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Analyze The Causes And Consequences Of The Whiskey Rebellion

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The Whiskey Rebellion occurred due to the tax imposed upon whiskey, the growing need to pay off war debts, and the urge to levy government power. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1791 occurred mainly throughout West Pennsylvania. The wealthy believed the tax was good for the society, while the laborers believed the government was being too harsh. Farmers rebelled against the tax that Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of State, placed upon whiskey. Tax was placed upon whiskey in order to show the government's power and to also help pay off the debts caused by the Revolutionary War. Another reason why tax was imposed on whiskey was because Alexander Hamilton wanted to levy the government's power over the states. In 1794, farmers in Pennsylvania rebelled …show more content…

Shays’ Rebellion occurred mainly throughout western Massachusetts. Daniel Shays, a former leader of the Continental Army, lead the rebellion throughout Massachusetts. The taxes, imposed by the government, caused many farmers to go into debt. Farmers became angry about this because government officials arrested those who were unable to pay off debts. Farmers, fighting against high taxes, followed the lead of Daniel Shays in an attempt to infiltrate the Springfield Armory. Massachusetts was later forced to adopt pro-debtor laws and regulations. Pro-debtor laws bypassed debt and printed more money. The movements started by Massachusetts citizens inspired a reform that benefited the lower-class. The rebellion led to the demise of the Articles of Confederation, as well. The Articles of Confederation established the first government to unify the thirteen colonies. The Articles of Confederation were written to give states sovereignty and independence and to keep the central government as weak as possible. The Articles of Confederation weakened as time went on. Each state only had one vote in Congress, regardless of size. Congress did not have the power to tax or regulate foreign commerce. Along with the other downfalls of the Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked an Executive Branch. When Shays Rebellion occurred the government was unable to put

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Before Shay's Rebellion the government was weak and unorganized and taxes and wages were unfair to the citizens. Farmers at the time were angry at the fact that they were loosing land just because of high taxes and the shortage of currency that was caused by the weak economic system. Shay's Rebellion consisted of the outraged farmers attacking courthouses because of all the unfairness that was being sent towards them. They gave more money for taxes and received low currency. The farmers as well rebelled against the "government" so they wouldn't foreclose their land.

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Daniel Shays led a rebellion after the U.S. went into economic depression. This caused the Massachusetts government to seize several farms and sell them to re-gain profits. Shays led a mob of 1,000 enraged Massachusetts farmers to get weaponry from a state warehouse in August 1786. The rebellion was a fail because Shays and other fellow comrades were arrested. All in all, Daniel Shays led a rebellion because many farmers plots of land were taken and sold for profit.

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However, Massachusetts shut down their rebellion by calling in their militia. The main cause of this nearly six month rebellion was money. The Massachusetts legislature voted on a heavy land tax. Farmers could not afford to pay these taxes.

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They all had an immense amount of debt due to the government not paying the veterans, and the taxes being increased for farming. This led to Daniel Shays becoming one of the numerous leaders of the rebellions. At first they tried to change the laws peacefully by having a petition for them stating that the veterans and farmers were being treated unfairly because these new laws, guidelines, and new legislature rules (legislature was controlled by merchant interest). Therefore since the legislature was controlled by eastern merchant interest the petitions were declined which caused even more issues for the veterans and farmers. Protests began to increase tremendously, in August 1786 the legislature was going to have a court meeting considering the many petitions against the rebellions, but Shays had formed a protest that marched to the courthouse and prevented them from having the court sitting.

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It was affecting the farmers the most in that they were going into debt quickly and they would be imprisoned if they could not pay off their debts, also the large tax they had to pay. In the month of February there was a rebellion against the court to change and handle these problems. Shays was a leader of one of the militias, but not the leader of all the groups. The leaders were sentenced to death, but Shays made a petition and they got pardoned. Through these actions is what made the government replace the Articles of Confederation and create a strong national

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Shays’ Rebellion was a pivotal moment in American history. Shays’ Rebellion, led by Daniel Shays, was an armed rebellion that took place from August of 1786 until early 1787, starting in Springfield, Massachusetts. Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran, was able to gather 1,500 farmers who all thought the same thing: taxes were too high and the government they had was unresponsive. By doing this, Shays was able to expose the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, which eventually led to many of the government’s leaders declaring that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate, as well as the ratification of the Constitution. In this essay, it will become clear just how important and necessary Shay's Rebellion was, and how it changed America

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DBQ Essay The United States Constitution is a document that or founding fathers made in order to replace the failing Articles of Confederation (A of C). Under the Constitution, the current government and states don’t have the problems they faced when the A of C was in action. The Constitution was created in 1788, and held an idea that the whole nation was nervous about. This idea was a strong national government, and the Federalist assured the people that this new government would work. The framers of the Constitution decided to give more power to the Federal government rather than the state governments because the A of C had many problems, there was a need for the layout of new government, rights, and laws, and there was a need for the Federal

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It was important for George Washington to put down the Whiskey Rebellion and enforce tax on whiskey because the rebellion was a threat to the new republic. After Washington put down the rebellion, the new government established their position and power, hopefully discouraging future law breaking of this kind. While the US was formed on rebelling against laws that were deemed unjust, the country would not have survived if citizens felt free to rebel or break every law they did not like. Further, the whiskey tax was a way for the US to gain money to help pay debts from the Revolution, which were important to repay in order to secure the country’s economic survival long term. The greatest factor that convinced colonists to pay their taxes was

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Shays’ Rebellion Essay Shays’ Rebellion was when a group of farmers protested against the government shortly after America gained its independence. Although these farmers rebelled against the government, nevertheless they stood up, aimed to help country, and their actions had lasting effects affecting the government. These protesters stood up against the government. It is important to realize that “ the people who have stepped up to demand rights for themselves and others are most likely to be put in jail.” These jails they were put in were often far away from their homes.

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This is because Shays rebellion took place because the poor farmers were fighting against the outrageous taxes which were leaving them without land and in prison with no means of supplying food for their families. In many states at the time if someone didn't have land they weren't able to vote because in the governments eyes they had no power. These taxes were taking away the farmers land which then also took away their right to vote which left them powerless and made their options pointless. Poor farmers ended up in jail which left their families out on the streets begging for money and a means to survive. Just like the whiskey rebellion farmers were left without a way to supply for their family because the demand of whiskey was way down after the government increase the tax by 25%.

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585 Words | 3 Pages

Following the Revolutionary War, America had just gained independance from Great Britain and needed to form a new government. The Articles of Confederation were established as an attempt to create a government that was unlike Britain’s. Unfortunately, the Articles of Confederation had several weaknesses. When in the process of repairing those weaknesses, the Federalists and the Anti-federalists formed. The Articles of Confederation were very weak as well as useless to America and because of this, the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists could not agree on a new type of government.

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1034 Words | 5 Pages

Shay’s Rebellions follow the Revolutionary war and how the US fell into a economic crisis, There were a lot of tension due to farmers losing their property to to debt collectors. In January 1787, him and his force were sent to a federal armory at Springfield but it failed due the artillery fire and how it lead to 4 people being killed and 20 people being wounded. Rebellion doesn’t always end up peaceful and it can also show no improvement at.

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1553 Words | 7 Pages

Ironically, western Virginians experienced a period of significant prosperity and growth in the years following the Whiskey Rebellion. Numerous anti-excise leaders in the western counties were able to return to their state and local government positions, some even using the insurrection to advance their political influence. Economically, in the aftermath of the insurrection, the lasting military presence in western Virginia boosted the local economy, bringing in more much-needed banknotes. Barksdale notes, “The soldiers’ demand for supplies and propensity to consume large quantities of Virginia whiskey assumed that money flowed into the burgeoning regional economy.” It was ironic that the soldiers sent to enforce the loathsome whiskey tax stimulated

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Due to the fact that Massachusetts was newly settled, yeoman farmers were attempting to build new farms resulting in debt that the farmers could not pay. The yeoman farmers were also in debt because of a post-war recession, lack of payment of their army stipends, and failure to receive payment for their bonds. These debts lead to farmers being arrested which caused the anger that lead to the creation of Shays’ Rebellion. Other states with this problem were passing laws to protect their farmers during this economic crisis, but Massachusetts did not which further angered the lower class. The already poor farmers were forced to give up their land as payment because the farmers could not pay their debts in specie.

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The locals used whiskey not only for drinking but also for cooking and medicine. To the people apart of the Whiskey Rebellion, whiskey during the eighteenth century was as valuable as gold. The uproar took a turn for the worse in 1791 on October when the rebellion disguised themselves as farmers snatched a federal tax collector from his bed, marched him five miles to a blacksmith shop where they stripped him of his clothes, and burned him with a poker (Frear, 1999). Over the next three years that followed the locals in the rebellion kidnaped dozens of tax collectors. The rebels beat, shot, tarred, feathered, and terrorized dozen federal tax collectors.

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