Ch. 19: Creating the Constitution Vocabulary: confederation, creditors, debt, debtor, inflation, depression, speculators, Daniel Shays, George Washington

The Articles of Confederation The first plan of government for the United States was the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation did not build a solid government, or a strong union between the states. There was no president, and no courts. Congress could make laws, but was not allowed to raise an army to enforce the laws. Congress could ask for money, but could not tax the new states.

Shay’s Rebellion After the Revolution, the United States had a lot of debt. After the war, the soldiers who fought for the new country were told they would be paid. Congress was not allowed to raise taxes, just ask for money. The soldiers were forced to sell their IOU notes to speculators in order to feed their families for much less than they were worth.

Shay’s Rebellion In order to feed people the government started printing new money, but this caused inflation. The entire country was in a depression. Many people were poor and lost their homes and farms. Then they were thrown into debtor’s prison. One group of farmers who used to be soldiers in Massachusetts became angry and under the leadership of Daniel Shay started breaking into debtors prisons and freeing the poor farmers who couldn’t pay their bills. The new United States government couldn’t do anything about it, because they weren’t allowed to interfere with the affairs of the states. Philadelphia County Prison

Shay’s Rebellion Daniel Shay was eventually stopped by a Massachusetts militia. Shay’s Rebellion made Congress and the states realize that the Articles of Confederation would not work as the government of the United States.

A New Constitution The second government of the United States was called the Constitution. It was written by James Madison. It replaced the Articles of Confederation.

The Whiskey Rebellion After they established the Constitution, Congress was allowed to pass taxes. One of the first taxes was on whiskey. Most of the whiskey produced in the United States was made in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvanian farmers did not like the new tax and tried to rebel like Daniel Shay did.

The Whiskey Rebellion President Washington heard about the riots in Pennsylvania and sent federal marshals to tell the protesters to stop. The farmers didn’t stop. Washington, then called in 13,000 troops from the army to make the protestors stop rioting. This caused the Whiskey Rebellion to end. It also proved that the new Constitution worked.

Questions about Chapter 18 1.What were three problems with the Articles of Confederation? 2.What event caused Shay’s Rebellion? 3.What happened during Shay’s Rebellion? 4.After the new U.S. Constitution was ratified, what event tested it? 5.What happened during the Whiskey Rebellion?