Economic chaos spread throughout the colonies
Background: The States taxed one another’s goods and even banned some trade. They printed their own money, often with little backing. Economic chaos spread throughout the colonies as prices soared and sound credit vanished. Debts, public and private, went unpaid. Violence broke out in various places and one example of this was Shay’s Rebellion.
Shays‘ Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state government’s increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades; the fight took place mostly in and around Springfield during 1786 and 1787.
As economic conditions had worsened, property owners, many small farmers, had begun to lose their land and possessions for lack of payment on taxes and debts.
Directions: Watch this video on the Shays’ Rebellion or read this and answer the following questions:
- Why did Shays’ Rebellion begin? What was happening in the United States?
- Describe what happened. What did Shays and his followers do?
- How did Shays’ Rebellion lead the Framers of the U.S. government to decide that the Articles of Confederation needed to be changed?
