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Shays rebellion and whiskey rebellion thesis
Shays rebellion essay summary
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"The worst form of inequality is to try and make unequal things equal." Aristotle. By saying this, it means based on the Constitution, equality is not achievable for an individual in society. Passed by Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified on December 6, 1865, the 13th amendment banned slavery in the United States, but on March 4th, 2005, a husband and wife were found guilty of torturing a held slave for over 6 years. (Latest slave found in the United States) Yet still, many believe that based on the Constitution, equality is possible, but will take a several years to progress into that stage, all the United States needs is just more passed laws and enforcement to provide the same opportunities to everyone, no matter the color, …show more content…
Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employment discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. (civil rights act of 1964) Discrimination may be prohibited, yet these sites go against this prohibition to categorize a specific type. Employment; meaning, an activity to which one devotes time; the work in which one is engaged; occupation. (employment definition) Employment still does refer with signing up to a website, because if you are not that specific type, doesn't that mean you are unable to participate or be engaged. Going to a website and only allowing a specific type of race, belief, or any difference that separates an individual is discrimination and yet it is still allowed by millions. Small things, like these websites, provide proof that people will not give certain people the same chances and yet there is no such site as to “White People Meet.com,” meaning if one race is to have a site, why can not the other. Equality is not possible with the United States Constitution, and these types of websites are examples of how people are not giving everyone an opportunity, and are just allowing a certain type to be given a …show more content…
A major rebellion took place, in August, the year of 1786, over fifteen hundred farmers started a rebellion because of Massachusetts tax policy, after defeat in January 1787, the state soon freed most of the rebels because many agreed with the rebels and their cause. As many thought the policy would improve the state, in the end, people such as these rebellions showed how many felt. In fact, Shays's rebellion showed weakness in the Confederation government. This is very important because the Constitution will eventually make a law that is the wrong decision in the view of the people and people will fight to prove it. Daniel Shays led hundreds of men in a forced shutdown of the Supreme Court in Springfield, Massachusetts, and this provides evidence that citizens will stand for what they believe.(history book) In conclusion, the Constitution may prohibit certain concepts, but people will still defy and will fight for what they believe
Zinn goes into detail how proletarian unrest, namely Shays’ Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion, caused unease amongst the wealthy. The solution, according to James Madison in Federalist #10, was a unifying Constitution. Madison believed that it would be easier to quell uprisings and dissent if the government was much larger; instead of unruly residents solely dealing with a state’s governing body, they would have to deal with the entire country (156).
The states, in which Shays rebellion has taken place, were becoming unjust/unfair the way in which the state collected taxes. Since the Articles of Confederation was a complete failure, the founding fathers had to draft the active construction and choose a new system of government. According to article 2 “The state government will retain all powers that are not specifically given to the national Congress.. ” (Williamsburg, 2009)
The Shays Rebellion were series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers. However, protests began before Shays Rebellion, the Massachusetts protest convention, circa of 1780 is a prime example of this, “...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers....”.(B) Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. Unlike many other state legislatures in the 1780s, the Massachusetts government didn't respond to the economic crisis . As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison.These conditions led to the first major armed rebellion in the post-Revolutionary United States called Shays Rebellion. Anti-Federalist were primality poor uneducated farmers. An exception of a the poor Anti Federalist stereotype is George Mason, whom is a huge political influence of the Bill of Rights, exploits his ideology in his Virginia Bill of Rights “That
Historically, the United States has prided itself as the most egalitarian and autonomous nation in the world. Political figures and institutions have attempted to uphold the theoretical ideals of the nation, while in practice often fail to fulfill their promises to the people. This gap between our fundamental values as delineated in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and our discriminatory practices such as slavery and gender discrimination can be found in competing political ideologies which purposefully exclude marginalized peoples. The framers built the United States for the white man; every other person’s rights came, and continue to come afterwards. Once one people’s freedom is postponed, the same oppressive strategies
In the Summer of 1787, fifty-five delegates representing 12 out of the 13 states in Philadelphia to fix the Articles of Confederation. They met in philadelphia because the Articles of Confederation was too weak. Shay’s rebellion was the end of the Articles of Confederation bringing down the whole network calling for a change of government. They did this to prevent a tyrant or tyranny. A tyrant/tyranny is when someone or a group abuses their power. The Constitution guarded against tyranny through Federalism, Separation of powers, Checks and Balances, and The Great Compromise.
Although the U.S. Constitution states that “all men are created equal,” during America’s early days it only applied to upper class white men. This upsets many people in the United States. When the Constitution first came into play, only the rich white men were treated right. As the years progressed, more and more whites
After claiming independence from Great Britain, America had a tremulous start with thirteen states governing themselves using the Articles of Confederation and therefore not united under one whole government that set and regulated tax and commerce. With the states usually arguing and not providing financial support to the government, Shay’s Rebellion had begun in Massachusetts, urged by farmers, in protest of the tax collections and economic chaos. Without the political unrest caused by that one event, the future of America would have turned out differently; it would likely have been that the states would have plunged into massive debt and lost the freedoms achieved after the American Revolution. Afterwards, people had urged the creation of an effective government to support them, thus creating the Constitutional Convention. At the Convention, fifty-five delega...
Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppressed by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
Throughout the American Revolution, the colonists were completely resentful towards their British 'king'. They yearned for their own government, and to finally set themselves apart from George III's rule and his legislation. When the Articles of Confederation were mandated, the expectation was to provide the colonies with a stable government. The Articles were then replaced by the Constitution, which had corresponding values. Essentially the document was written to salvage and improve the new government. The Constitution did many positive things for the nation, and was the perfect remedy for the failures of of the Articles. However, it is manifest that the authors of the document were not as honorable as they may have been assumed to be. How they drafted the document and the bias they have put into it is still greatly effects us. The Constitution is a counter-revolution because it contradicts the fails of the Articles, and is evident that some authors had more self-beneficial and narrow mindsets.
There are many situations in life where a rebellion is required for improvement. For instance, the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s War, Shay’s Rebellion, and Bacon’s Rebellion all had the same idea in common, they all wanted change. They all wanted to improve America’s society. The tactic in each rebellion was different, the motives were different, and not all the outcomes were successful. All of these rebellions also had unobvious internal struggles which either weaken or strengthen them. It is likely that Bacon’s Rebellion could have been avoided because it did not leave a positive impact on America’s society. Although, if the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s war, and Shay’s Rebellion never occurred the government would not be
The elite opted to prevent rebellions which voiced the opinions of disregarded members of society such as women, slaves, indentured servants, and men who didn't own land, by intervening and taking them into their own hands because they wanted to preserve their power. In 1780, Shay's rebellion, led by Daniel Shay, a veteran of the Battle of Bunker Hill, allowed farmers who were unable to pay their mortgage, to speak out. Creating chaos amongst the peaceful streets of Springfield, armed farmers were stopped by state militia. Shay's rebellion led way to the Philadelphia Convention in which fifty-five men representing twelve states congregated on 1787, in proposal of drafting a new constitution. Through the occurrence of the American Revolution, they were aware of the power that their people were able to execute and wanted to stabilize the government by creating a new Constitution....
In 1786-1787, Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army led the Shays's Rebellion caused by bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes that threatened farmers in Massachusetts. Farms were being foreclosed and farmers were imprisoned as debtors. Shays and his men attacked courts in western Massachusetts. Shays and his followers sought a more flexible monetary policy, laws that allow them to use corn and wheat as money, and the right to postpone paying taxes until the postwar agricultural depression lifted. The state government was unable to control Shays and his followers and requested help from the government under the Articles of Confederation. The Articles of Confederation were viewed as a weak government to maintain law and order. The state government responded by sending 4,400 militiamen armed with cannon in order to defeat the rebellion. Soldiers scattered the debtor army with a single volley that left four farmers dead. The new state legislature decided to relieve the agricultural crisis by eliminating taxes on farmers. Shays' Rebellion showed that the government under Articles of Confederation isn't strong enough and led to the development of a strong central government under the Constitution. This rebellion gave conservatism and nationalism across the new United States. Shays'
In terms of equality, we aren’t meeting the expectations of the founding fathers because in today's society there are race, income, and gender inequalities. These all have to do with social darwinism, male chauvinism, and social class degradation. It was stated in the Declaration of Independence “We all hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” By the founding fathers we are expected to have these rights, but the way the world is today we don’t have them. The people of the United States should try to fight for our rights.
There are many things that stand out in America as we have all come to know it today. Among those that are in the majority there are no worries, and things are typically thought to be very equal and just. Everything is relative, and compared to the past everything is equal and just, but there is a lot of ground that can still be made. There are numerous examples throughout our history of people stating grievances in the cases of women’s rights, African American rights, GLBT issues, and even the unstated privileges white people are given today. America was founded strongly with expressions such as, “all men are created equal” (Jefferson, 1776, p. 5). There are many arguments to be made that this expression was not all people, but all men because those in power are self-interested. Whites still have privileges that would not want to be given up, and disadvantages are given to minority groups in turn. African American, women, and GLBT issues are still very present today, and people are still suffering because of it.