Where: western Massachusetts Why: The rebellion started because farmers in Massachusetts were losing their farms and property due to crushing debt. The economy was terrible and the farmers had no money. They wanted the Massachusetts State government to help them, but were taxed instead. If you could not pay your debt or taxes you could be sent to debtors prison. ( A prison for people who could not pay back their debt ) Daniel Shays was a debt- ridden farmer in Western Massachusetts. He organized famers and petitioned the Massachusetts government for help but the government did nothing.

Importance The Articles of Confederation was too weak! A larger rebellion could have destroyed the nation. Shays Rebellion led directly to the United States forming a stronger federal government by adopting the Constitution.

Americans realized by 1787 that the Articles of Confederation was not working. A convention of representatives from each state was called in Philadelphia to write a Constitution to fix the problems of the nation. It was the summer of 1787

The Delegates to the Constitutional Convention The delegates sent by the states to the Constitutional Convention were most of the important “Founding Fathers” of our nation. Men like George Washington, Ben Franklin, and James Monroe. Most had political experience. 40 had been in the Continental Congress during the Revolution. Almost all were wealthy land owners. 35 out of the 55 were lawyers. But there were also soldiers, farmers, doctors, ministers, merchants, and educators.

The Delegates to the Constitutional Convention All were white men. No women or minorities were included. 12 states sent delegates. The only state not to send delegates was Rhode Island. The delegates had to make a choice. Should they -Fix the Articles of Confederation. Or -Write a new form of government. Which did they chose?

John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were in Europe “If men were Angels, no government would be necessary”

One of the biggest arguments at the Constitutional Convention was how the Legislature or Congress would work. How would representation be determined? How many representatives would each state get? Small states wanted equal representation. All states have the same amount of representatives like the Articles of Confederation Larger states wanted representation based on population. Larger the population = the more representatives in Congress.

The two sides would Compromise which means each side gives up something to get an agreement. This was called THE GREAT COMPROMISE! (It decided how the states would be represented in Congress) The Congress or Legislative Branch would have A House of Representatives based on population. Larger the population = more Congressmen A Senate where each states gets only 2 Senators.

Virginia Plan : How many Houses? Representatives determined by? New Jersey Plan : How many Houses? Representatives determined by? Great Compromise Senate Each State gets: House of Representatives Representatives determined by? 2 Representative Houses Population and wealth 1 Representative House Each State gets 1 representative 2 Representatives per state Population

Issue: Should slaves count as population for states? This would help southern states get more representatives in House of Representatives, but this would also mean Southern States would have to pay taxes on these slaves. Southern states would pay higher taxes because of this than Northern states that had fewer slaves. Northern States also wanted the Slave Trade outlawed

The 3/5 th Compromise was agreed upon. -Only 3/5 th of the population of Slaves would be counted towards population and Taxed. Southern states would pay less taxes, but have fewer representatives in Congress