Question

1. jefferson thinks the people at the constitutional convention are overreacting to shays rebellion. what does he worry they might do as they write the new constitution? (hint: think about what might happen if they panic.)

Explanation:

Shays’ Rebellion made some at the Constitutional Convention fear unrest. Jefferson, favoring limited government and states’ rights, worried that if they overreacted (panicked), they’d create a Constitution with too strong a central government, reducing states’ and people’s liberties, maybe making a government too powerful (like a tyranny - similar to British rule they fought against), and not properly balancing power or protecting individual/state freedoms.

Answer:

Jefferson worried that the delegates at the Constitutional Convention, due to overreacting to Shays’ Rebellion, might create a new Constitution that established an overly powerful central government. He feared this could lead to a government that was too tyrannical (resembling the British rule they had fought against), that would infringe on the rights and liberties of the people and the states, and that would fail to properly balance power or protect the freedoms of individuals and the autonomy of the states.