9781422287569

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Daniel Shays, a Massachusetts farmer, address- es a crowd of supporters on the steps of the courthouse in Northampton, Massachusetts. Shays’s 1786 rebellion was a sign that people were unhappy with the federal government that had been created in the colonies after the American Revolution. Soon, a new system of government, based on a document called the U.S. Constitution, would be established.

W hen Daniel Shays returned to his farm in Massachusetts after the American War for Independence, he expected to enjoy the freedoms he fought hard to win as a captain in the Continental Army. But throughout the 13 states, things were getting off to a rocky start. After seven years of war, the treasuries of the state governments were empty. They had been drained by the costs of outfitting the Continental Army and waging war against the army of King George III. The state legislatures were forced to levy high taxes. What’s more, the new nation was troubled by inflation. This is an economic condition that results in high prices for food, tools, and other goods. Farmers like Daniel Shays found it difficult to raise enough crops to feed their families and pay their taxes and debts. Before the Shays’s Rebellion

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