Writing Assignment: Rebellions

Write a one-page essay comparing and contrasting Shays’ Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion. In your essay, be sure to discuss who the rebels were; did they rebel or were they provoked? And what was the government's response to the rebellions? In your thesis, state the significance of the rebellions.

Although the United States successfully gained its independence from Britain, it was still far from the country it is today. The new nation was the guinea pig for a republic – there was still much to develop in the toddler republican government. In 1786, the Shays’ Rebellion tested the new system when a group of Massachusetts impoverished backcountry farmers rose up against authorities for foreclosing their farms and not being able to pay debts and taxes. Eight years later in 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion featured Pennsylvanian farmers uprising against Hamilton’s new tax laws on whiskey. However, these two rebellions, though similar in some places, occurred in two different atmospheres and left different results. Shays’ Rebellion resulted in the Americans realizing the weakness of their new government from the Articles of Confederation, while the Whiskey Rebellion revealed the strength of the following federal government created by the Constitution.

The rebels of Shays’ Rebellion were poor farmers of the Massachusetts backcountry, and many of whom had been Revolutionary War veterans. The leader of this cause was Captain Daniel Shays, who had participated in the Revolution. Their discontentment arose from the fragile economy after the war – many had extensive debt, unpaid taxes, and were facing foreclosure on their farms. However, during this time the government by the Articles of Confederation was weak and held little power compared to the States’. As a result, the rebels struck hard and caused many settlers to panic; many thought the government had gone to anarchy. It took a year for the government to quell the rebellion. To Americans’ alarm, the state bent to the rebels’ will – the Massachusetts legislature passed the debtor-relief laws that they had wanted. Americans began to see the influence of the mob in this weak government and therefore championed towards a more powerful central government. The Shays’ Rebellion directly led to the formation of the Constitutional Convention, which resulted in our modern Constitution that structured a strong federal government.

On the other hand, the Whiskey Rebellion happened after this new federal government was formed. The rebels were similarly farmers, but this time they protested against the new excise taxes on domestic items, of most notably whiskey. These dwellers saw the taxes as a drain on an economic necessity and even more grievously so as whiskey was also a medium of exchange. The rebels began tarring and feathering revenue officers and refusing to pay their taxes in defiance. However, now that a central government held more power, the president, George Washington raised an army of thirteen thousand soldiers to successfully stop the rebellion. People now had an idea of how strong their federal government was, but some would criticize this display of power and come to fear it.

The results of these two rebellions reflect how powerful or not the government of the United States was at the time. Shays’ Rebellion revealed a loophole in the Articles of Confederation, while the Whiskey Rebellion showed the people the strength of a central government.