Articles of Confederation & Shay’s Rebellion

What is a confederation? How does this apply to the structure of the U.S. at the time? Who retained most power?

A confederation is a government where the different parts are separate. This applied to the structure of the U.S. government at the time by each state having a representative that went to meet a group of other representatives to make decisions. The state governments ended up with the most power.

What was the single branch of this government?

Legislative

How many delegates (out of 13) needed to agree to make any decisions on a national level?

Nine

Why didn’t they have an executive branch?

They were scared of a king/tyrant taking over again.

What were the limitations/weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation?

The delegates didn’t have enough authority to place taxes to help build the country and pay veterans. It also took a lot of time for all the congress to meet and make decisions in a timely manner.

Who was protesting? Why?

Farmers were protest because they didn’t get paid for their military service and while they were gone fighting in the war their farms fell apart, causing them to build up debts they couldn’t repay.

What did most founding fathers conclude from the rebellion.

That this was a sign that the AOC were not working showing the weakness they had and it may be time to make changes.

What did Jefferson conclude from the rebellion?

He thought it was a good thing showing the country was prospering and the people had freedom to express their options.