Question
Discuss the causes and results of Bacon’s Rebellion, Shays’ Rebellion, and the Whiskey Rebellion. What similarities and differences were there?
Introduction and Thesis
In the 18th and 19th century the nascent republic struggled with democracy, leading to the anger from the backcountry farmers who could not take it anymore. Bacon’s Rebellion, Shays’ Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion were similar in the nature of their cause and purpose, though contrasted in the effects.
Body Paragraph 1 – The similarities in the nature of the cause of the rebellions.
- Economic hardship
o Bacon’s Rebellion
§ Headright system with 75% of all European immigrants are indentured servants go to Chesapeake colonies of VA and MD, single whites in 20s with declining freedom dues, where 40% would live after 4-7 years.
o Shays’ Rebellion
§ Suffering from trade wars due to failing Articles of Confederation
§ Placed tariffs on domestic imports coming within a state
§ Each state issued own paper money
· Government could not force states to pay taxes, and interest on public debt piling up.
§ Backcountry farmers had Continentals when it was “not worth a Continental”
o Whiskey Rebellion
§ An excise tax on whiskey as Constitution taxed to raise debts from Revolution, one of Alexander Hamilton’s schemes.
§ Western farmers could not sell their grains and crops other than through distilling it first into a portable whiskey.
o Failure to pay taxes resulted in controversial debtors’ prisons
- No representation of backcountry farmers
o Bacon’s Rebellion backcountry farmers were disfranchised, and pleas ignored by Governor Berkeley who wanted to protect his own fur trade
o Shays’ Rebellion Shayists sent petitions to Massachusetts General Court, but were ignored.
o Whiskey Rebels backcountry farmers already had little voice in government
Body Paragraph 2 – The similarities of the three rebellions was the distrust of the mob and efforts made to reduce power from the mob
- Electoral College
o Designed to limit the power of the ‘mobocracy’
o Shays’ Rebellion and Bacon’s Rebellion supported how Alexander Hamilton called the people “a great beast” and Washington to them as “the grazing multitude”
- Creation of the Constitution and AoC
o Mt. Vernon Conference, Annapolis Convention, Constitutional Convention all done in secret by wealthy aristocrats.
- Bacon’s Rebellion led to plantation owners turning to slavery.
- Showed weakness of lack of military for first two rebellions
o Bacon’s Rebellion had Nathaniel Bacon chase Governor Berkeley out.
o Daniel Shays’ Army was the actual army of western Massachusetts
- Impetus for the Constitutional Convention, and for the Annapolis Convention to re-meet again > AoC virtually no continental army
- Managed to attack judges, burn down courthouses and records of people’s debt records, highlighting lack of power.
o Where only 5 members showed up in Annapolis Convention, now all 13 delegates showed up at Constitutional Convention
- Emphasized difference between wealthy and poor whites
o Plantation owners in Bacon’s Rebellion dominated legislature, backcountry farmers disfranchised
o Shays’ Rebellion with poor unable to survive with useless “rag money” Continentals, like Newburg Conspiracy, wanted to rebel.
o Whiskey’s Rebellion had backcountry farmers condemn Washington and would-be federalists for strong power of the government, and Thomas Jefferson’s opposition emerged.
Body Paragraph 3 - There were different effects in the three rebellions in terms of how the government responded to each
- Contrast b/w Whiskey Rebellion and Shay’s, Bacon’s Rebellion
o Whiskey Rebellion highlighted strong federal powers, but was condemned by the antifederalists led by Jefferson.
§ Shays’ Rebellion and Bacon’s Rebellion all highlighted the dangers of a weak federal government.
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