U.S. History Collection
Daniel Shays's Rebellion

The Failure of the Articles of Confederation

Public opinion on Shays’s rebellion was mixed. Some prominent Massachusetts residents supported it; others, including famed patriot Samuel Adams, thought that the rebels should be executed. Even though the Massachusetts legislature initially banned Shays’s rebels from serving on juries and holding public office, many of them were pardoned later that year by the new governor, John Hancock. In addition, the newly elected state legislature addressed the farmers’ initial demands by cutting taxes and postponing debt repayment. Shays was pardoned as well and eventually moved to New York.

Despite the fact that Shays’s Rebellion resulted in some success for the protesters, the fact that the national government had not been able to remedy the financial situation that sparked the rebellion or provide an adequate military response to suppress the uprising caused many Americans to question the Articles of Confederation. How could Americans expect to protect themselves from hostile foreign countries if the national government could not put down a local rebellion waged by farmers? How could the government address its financial problems if it could not raise taxes? Shays’s Rebellion highlighted the fundamental weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation and gave rise to the debate that eventually led to an entirely new constitution.

Political cartoon titled "The Looking Glass for 1787." Click to enlarge. Transcript below.

A colorful political cartoon shows Connecticut represented by a wagon full of paper money and debts and sinking into the mud due to its weight. Men on either side pull the wagon in opposite directions. The men on the left are pulling toward a beaming full sun, and the men on the right are pulling toward a red, smoky fire beneath a stormy sky. Below this scene, some men are talking, one appears to be farming the land, and another man is being sprayed by a porcupine's quills. Drawings at the bottom from left to right show a person seated at a small round table, three merchant ships sailing, and a neighborhood of buildings with the caption New York.
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Transcript
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The LOOKING GLASS for
1787

Pay Commutation
Drive them to it
I abhor the antifederal Faction
Comply with Congress

Gentlemen this Machine is deep in the mire and you are divided as to its releaf--

Tax Luxury
the People are oprest
curses on to Foederal Govermt.
Success to Shays
Curse Independence

Council of Twelve
[on wagon] CONNECTICUT

[on scroll] American Antiquities
Parnassus

I despise your Copper
CATO

Cur's commutation
J.

Takes all to pay taxes

I fear & dread the Ides of MAY
Agricola

A good Shot
S H P

New York

From Connecticut to New York paying £40000 per annum Impost

Tweedles Studdy
as I sit plodding by my taper

A House divided against its self cannot stand Mat. Chap 12th verse 26

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