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Compare And Contrast Shays Rebellion And Whiskey Rebellion

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The Whiskey Rebellion and Shays Rebellion Define: The Whiskey Rebellion was an event when the newly formed central government imposed a tax on distilled alcohol, such as whiskey. The tax was unpopular and viewed as a burden to farmers, who refused to pay the tax. Hordes of rebels terrorized the courts, disrupting their function. Shay’s Rebellion was led by Daniel Shay, a Revolutionary War captain, and those who followed him rebelled against the Massachusetts government because they imposed heavy taxes to pay state debt. Discuss: The Whiskey Rebellion was a show of strength from the new central government. The government ignored the plight of Shay and co. to fund Hamilton’s economic plan, which was beyond the capabilities of Congress; it was Hamilton who encouraged Washington to send the militia to disband the rebels. Shay’s rebellion was a display of social revolution and forced Massachusetts to make adjustments with debt collectors. Relate: These rebellions were important to early American political thought because it emphasized the need for a powerful federal government to collect taxes. Shays' Rebellion showed the weaknesses and shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and which eventually contributed to the Constitution and granting the central government more power. The Whiskey Rebellion’s …show more content…

He argued that the government should not coerce people to practice a particular religion and not punish them for not conforming. Williams believed in the toleration of all religions, including those that were not accepted by the Puritan faith. He believed that all individuals should be allowed to pursue their own beliefs without being persecuted. Williams was also an advocate for Native Americans and believed they had a right to their lands, and that the government should not take their lands without the proper

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After the rebellion was squashed, many americans were alarmed that a mob of farmers were able to take over the Massachusetts government - even for a short time. The “commotions sufficiently shocked (George) Washington to set him on the road to Philadelphia” (Larson, 236 ) to rewrite the Articles of confederation and to make a new constitution. During the constitutional convention, the authors of the document gave lots of power to the central government to prevent another mob from taking over a government again. Because of the constitution, the federal government also received the power to tax all the states and pass laws that could hurt farmers (“Article I:”). This shows that Daniel Shays rebellion was unsuccessful because it went against the goals of the rebellion of getting taxed less and having having pro debtor laws.

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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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In 1786, Daniel Shays, like other farmers, was with his inability to pay high debts. So, out of anger, formed a group of farmers who were frustrated too. The national government didn’t have a right or means to raise any army, so the governor of Massachusett formed an army on his own. New laws were drafted, which offered welcome relief to all of the debtors. But in the end, the rebellion helped highlight issues with the articles of confederation.

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The whiskey rebellion was caused due to the taxes passed on whiskey. “The whiskey tax is very unpopular but necessary.” (Hamilton) to raise revenue meant to pay off debts. In addition, the whiskey tax was meant to maintain the government's authority over westerners. The whiskey rebellion was caused because farmers could not afford the tax.

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Hieu, I completely agree with your views on the two main struggles the Founding Fathers encountered while developing the foundation for this great nation. Your views on both taxation and the Shays ' Rebellion are very similar to mine. It 's crazy that a society in that time frame didn 't adopt the Europeans way of taxation, which evolved around the king and his government. Another good point you have is how it was up to the individual states to fend for themselves for protection. Where the thirteen colonies just finished working together to defeat Great Britain in the Revolutionary War.

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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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The dominance of the government over the poor farmers caused the March of Paxton Boys, Shays’ Rebellion, and Whiskey Rebellion. The same trend of violent protests due to the government 's inability to take account for the farmers showed up throughout the years. While Shays’ Rebellion had the biggest change for the government of America, the Whiskey Rebellion and the March of Paxton Boys helped to strengthen the power and duties of the government.

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Despite their effort to create a new government different from Britain's following their Independence in 1776, America’s executive branch paralleled Britain’s. One of the main concerns many Revolutionists had with Britain’s government was that it had too much unregulated power. To avoid this, America wrote down its laws clearly in the Articles of Confederation and ratified it among the colonies in 1781, creating a decentralized government. Through practice, the colonists realized the Articles of Confederation needed tweaking; Massachusetts farmers saw the prices for crops plummet in 1786 but the government still demanded they their mortgages. Shay’s rebellion followed, in which the farmers insisted that it was the government’s job to assist

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The whiskey rebellion was a protest by many Americans who were against the new law that taxed whiskey. This law was put into place in 1791. The United States government was in debt from the war and they decided that taxing whiskey would slowly start eating away at Americas debt. George Washington was in his second year of presidency during 1791 although he wasn't the mastermind behind the whisky tax. Alexander Hamilton was the man behind this idea because he realized that Americans needed to do something to get out of their nearly eighty million dollars in debt they had accumulated from the war.

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In 1786 Shay’s Rebellion broke out. Shay’s Rebellion was a rebellion in Massachusetts made up of veterans who were given land in the form of payment for their service in the Revolutionary War. Their property had been foreclosed by the state because they could not pay their land tax. They intimidated lawyers and judges and burned courthouses until the militia stopped them. According to a letter from Henry Knox to George Washington, “The commotions of Massachusetts have wrought prodigious change in the minds of men in that state respecting the Powers of Government every body says they must be strengthened, and that unless this shall be effected, there is no...

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To address the whiskey rebellion, George Washington decided to take action. He suppressed the rebellion by sending federal troops to western Pennsylvania, where the rebellion was at its peak. This action

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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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10) The Whiskey Rebellion was significant because it showed that the government was willing and able to suppress oppositions with military force. The rebellion was a protest to Hamilton’s excise tax on spirits. The tax had cut demand for the corn whiskey the farmers distilled and bartered. Protestors waved banners that proclaimed the French revolution slogan “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” In response President Washington rallied a militia of 12,000 troops and dispersed the rebels.

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Displaying similar tactics used by colonists during the Stamp Act. The actions in which they had dealt with the Whiskey Rebellion had been opposite of those used on Shay's Rebellion. Washington had called out the militias of three states raising an army with numbers consisting of nearly 15,000 ( more than he had used against the British during the Revolution). Washington had continued to personally led the troops into the center of the resistance, Pittsburgh. When the troops reached Pittsburgh the rebellion had

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Around the time of these protests Americans were beginning to realize their rights as citizens and what their ideal government looked like. Settlers of the backcountry were rebelling against the federalists, attempting to acquire more representation in the government. The people of the backcountry were becoming more oppressed as Alexander Hamilton began to attempt to improve America’s economy with manufacturing and revenue taxes. The backcountry settlers organized violent protests, three of these rebellions being Shays’ Rebellion, Whiskey Rebellion, and March of the Paxton Boys.

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