You will read the excerpts about Shay's Rebellion & answer the questions

In the summer of 1786, farmers in the western counties assembled to petition the Massachusetts legislature for relief. They asked that no taxes be collected for a year, that courts be closed so property could not be confiscated, and that a paper currency be issued to cause inflation, raising the price of farmers’ goods. Citizens from whom these farmers had borrowed money insisted, however, that contracts be honored. Critics called the farmers traitors and agents of the British, even though many were veterans of the Revolution. Some lenders, eager for the money farmers had promised to repay, insisted that debtors should be more industrious and live more frugally. Neither side provided an easy way to resolve the crisis.

Leaders of the farmers’ movement called on the people to be Minutemen, ready at a moment’s notice to defend their liberty as they had during the war. They met in taverns, churches, and town meetings to plot their strategy. Beginning in late August, they armed themselves and converged on county courts, hoping to close them. They reasoned that if the courts could not meet, they could not lose their property.

At the end of August, fifteen hundred angry farmers took up arms and seized the Northampton courthouse. On September 5, the judges tried to convene their court in Worcester, but three hundred bayonet-wielding farmers blocked their access. Over the next month, the rebels shut down courts in Worcester, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Berkshire Counties. In late September, a crowd of fifteen hundred led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays prevented the Massachusetts Supreme Court from meeting in Springfield. Where authorities called out the militia, its members were locals who either refused to muster against their neighbors and kinfolk or who joined them.

What does James Madison mean when he says, "you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place oblige it to control itself"?

How does this idea relate to the system of checks and balances in the U.S. Constitution?

What does Thomas Jefferson suggest about the role of rebellion in a healthy government?

Do you agree or disagree with his perspective? Explain your reasoning.

How does George Washington’s reaction to the rebellion reflect his views on government authority and stability?

How does his perspective compare to Thomas Jefferson’s views on rebellion?

Why was the national government’s inability to collect taxes under the Articles of Confederation a problem?

& How did the lack of an executive branch weaken the government’s ability to function?

What were the main concerns of larger and smaller states regarding representation in Congress?

In what ways did the Three-Fifths Compromise resolve disputes over taxation and representation between the Northern and Southern states?