Throughout 1786 and 1787, Shays' Rebellion, a series of protests by American farmers against local enforcement, that spread through South Carolina, Maine, Connecticut, New York and New Hampshire, but the protests were the strongest in Massachusetts. Massachusetts got the worst of the Rebellion because they had bad harvests, economic depression, new laws, West Indies trade, and high taxes due to Revolutionary War debts. Daniel Shays, former captain of the Continental Army, led Shays' Rebellion. Seen as one of the major factors that led to the writing of the new constitution, the rebellion is important. When the United States first became independent, the Articles of Confederation became its constitution. This constitution set up a government in which the states had all the power and the federal government had little. During that time, the economy of the US was not very strong. The weakness of the US economy prompted a situation in which many farmers ended up in debt. As their debts got bigger, their banks attempted to get back the money they had loaned by foreclosing the farmers land. In Massachusetts, this process caused farmers, led by Daniel Shays, to revolt. Daniel Shays, the son of an indentured servant and barely educated, objected against politicians, economic injustice, and …show more content…
Some of the problems with the Articles of Confederation were each state had the power to collect is own taxes, no universal currency, had the power to provide for its own militia. Also the national government lacked the power to compel states to honor national obligations, collect taxes or regulate commerce, and there were no courts to resolve issues among the different states. The American citizens also could not identify with the central government. There was no executive branch, no president, no national court system, and no effective way to