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weaknesses of the articles of confederation & shays rebellion
→i can understand the importance of shays rebellion.
→i can explain how the weaknesses of the articles of confederation and shays rebellion led to the writing of the u.s. constitution
with the articles of confederation having so many weaknesses, it was almost guaranteed that the united states would have a big problem on its hands.
weaknesses of the articles of confederation
congress could not raise money.
congress could not regulate trade.
congress could not enforce laws.
there was no central leadership.
there was no central court system.
all 13 states had to agree to make changes.
after the american revolution, the economy of the united states was still struggling due to debt. this debt would have major consequences for the government under the articles of confederation.
in massachusetts, the state government told farmers who served in the revolution that they did not have to pay property taxes. then, massachusetts officials decided that since farmers had not paid their taxes during the revolutionary war, their property would be taken away.
imagine being told you did not have to do something and then being told that you are required to do it or you will be punished?
the action by the massachusetts government of taking away property was seen as unfair and led to an event called shays rebellion. 2,000 farmers revolted against the massachusetts government by rioting and protesting to prevent the government from taking their farmland.
shays rebellion made it clear that the national government was too weak to maintain order in the new nation. this event made leaders of the national government think about how to fix the weaknesses of the articles of confederation.
in 1787, a meeting was called for representatives from all 13 states in philadelphia, pennsylvania to decide what to do. this meeting would later be known as the constitutional convention. it was at this meeting that they would address the weaknesses of the articles of confederation and write the u.s. constitution - the guiding document that we use for our government.
The Articles of Confederation had weaknesses like Congress's inability to raise money, regulate trade, enforce laws, lack of central leadership and court system, and requirement of all - state agreement for changes. Shays' Rebellion, caused by unfair property - taking actions by Massachusetts government, showed the national government's weakness. This led national leaders to call the Constitutional Convention in 1787 to address the Articles' weaknesses and write the U.S. Constitution.
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The weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and Shays' Rebellion highlighted the need for a stronger national government, which led to the writing of the U.S. Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in 1787.