Definition
In late 1786, farmers in western Massachusetts—facing high land taxes (and growing debt) and feeling that the economic (and governing) class in Boston didn’t represent them—took matters into their own hands. Under the leadership of Daniel Shays—the farmers organized themselves into an armed fighting force and marched through the western part of the state. Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress had no power to raise an army. They could ask the states for help—but they couldn’t force them to raise troops. As a result, a Massachusetts militia eventually put down the rebellion. For many in the Founding generation—including George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and James Madison—Shays’ Rebellion was proof that the Articles were too weak to govern the country. On February 21, 1787, the Confederation Congress did agree to call for a convention of state delegates to meet in Philadelphia for the “sole and express purpose of revising the Articles.”
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