myriad diplomatic issues with Britain and Spain.

The nation also had serious economic problems at this time. Trade with Britain and its colonies in the West Indies was cut off. States had assumed debts during the long war. There were serious disagreements on economic policy and disputes between states over trade and tariffs. There were also economic disputes within states between relatively prosperous businessmen and poorer farmers. Currency was a problem—should more paper money be printed? Rhode Island printed too much money, and creditors responded by leaving the state because they did not want to paid in worthless paper currency. Should debtors be forced to pay back loans with gold and silver? Some states passed ineffective debtor laws.

These economic issues and farmers' indebtedness led to Shays's Rebellion (1786–1787) in Massachusetts. Massachusetts did not issue enough paper money, and it demanded high taxes from its farmers. Farmers were enraged by the state government's favoritism toward business elites. Farmers in western Massachusetts revolted to prevent foreclosures on farms. Their leader, Daniel Shays, was a poor veteran of the Revolutionary War.

The revolt was quickly suppressed, but American leaders feared that similar incidents might happen elsewhere. Shays's Rebellion gave impetus to those who wanted to revise or replace the Articles of Confederation. In 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia and ultimately produced the Constitution of the United States.

Shays’s Rebellion was a rebellion among farmers in Massachusetts that began in 1786. The rebellion is important because it is seen as one of the major factors that led to the writing of the new Constitution.

When the United States first became independent, its constitution was called the Articles of Confederation. This constitution set up a government in which the states had essentially all of the power and the federal government had very little. During that time, the economy of the US was not very strong. The weakness of the US economy led to a situation in which many farmers ended up in debt. As their debts got bigger, their creditors (usually rich bankers from the cities) tried to get back the money they had lent by foreclosing on the farmers. In Massachusetts, this process caused farmers, led by Daniel Shays, to rebel.

This rebellion, along with other factors, helped to persuade rich Americans that a new constitution was needed. They were afraid that the state governments were being dominated by poorer people who would institute bad policies such as the debt forgiveness that Shays and his people wanted. They wanted a stronger national government and one that would be more insulated from the desires of the masses.

This is why Shays’s Rebellion ended up being very important. It scared American elites enough that they pushed for a new constitution. That is how we ended up with the Constitution that we now have.

Shays's Rebellion was a rebellion by Massachusetts farmers against taxation. The farmers, many of whom were Revolutionary War veterans who were not paid in full for their service, were afraid of losing their farms due to taxation and the subsequent market collapse that hit the United States after the American Revolution. The farmers rebelled by blocking judges from entering their courthouses and petitioning the government. Daniel Shays led the rebellion.

Shays's Rebellion proved that the federal government needed a way to provide for its soldiers' well-being and to create a stable system of taxation. Shays's Rebellion also proved that the Articles of Confederation, while theoretically sound in terms of providing freedom to the states, were unworkable when it came to creating a national government. The rebellion was one of the factors that led to the creation of a Constitution for the United States. It demonstrated the need for a national government that would be stable enough to pay for its defense in time of war so that farmers who fought to defend the country would not be poor after the war was over.

Shays's Rebellion (1786–87) was a protest and revolt against Massachusetts. The event produced few casualties, but it was significant. Daniel Shays, a former Revolutionary War soldier, was a prominent leader of the revolt.

The revolt was carried out for economic reasons. The farmers of Massachusetts, most of whom were veterans, were indebted. Also, the state was increasing taxes; thus, the farmers faced arrest and foreclosure.

Opposition to the state was peaceful, in the beginning. The farmers sent a list of grievances to the state government. They also began to physically block judges from entering courthouses to prevent foreclosures.

Although there was some sympathy for the farmers' plight, key people wanted to crush the incipient revolt. One of these people was Samuel Adams. Another enemy of the farmers was Governor James Bowdoin.

General Benjamin Lincoln led a force of 4,400 men that crushed the revolt; a few rebels were killed. Shays and some other rebels escaped to Vermont. Eventually, Shays and almost all of the rebels were eventually pardoned.

Shays's Rebellion was a minor revolt, but it was important. It convinced many people that the Articles of Confederation were inadequate. Therefore, Shays's rebellion gave impetus to those leaders who wanted a new constitution for the United States.

Shays’ Rebellion was an uprising carried out by farmers in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787.  The main effect that it had on our country was that it caused the calling of the Constitutional Convention.  The men who attended this convention wrote the US Constitution.  Thus, Shays’ Rebellion led rather directly to the writing of the Constitution.

Shays’ Rebellion happened because farmers were facing major economic problems.  They could not get enough money to pay their taxes or their debts.  Because they could not pay, many of them were having their land taken away from them.  Farmers, many of whom were veterans of the Revolutionary War, felt that they were being treated unfairly and they rebelled.  They were trying to stop the courts from functioning so their land could not be taken away.

Shays’ Rebellion was suppressed, but it worried many American elites.  They felt that it was one more piece of evidence showing that a new system of government was needed.  They wanted a form of government in which the national government had more power. Because of this, they called the Constitutional Convention, which ended up writing a new constitution for the US. 

We can say, then, that Shays’ Rebellion was a rebellion by farmers in Massachusetts that led to the writing of our Constitution.

A more nearly correct answer would be that Shay's Rebellion was a clear and compelling indication that the Confederation government under which the U.S. was operating simply did not work. The end result is that the leaders of the nation concluded that a strong central government was needed. George Washington commented that

We have probably had too good an opinion of human nature in forming our Confederation.

The Confederation government had been created with the purpose of avoiding a strong central government. However, with the end of the Revolutionary war, the several states no longer had a common goal, and looked increasingly to their own interests. Shay's Rebellion, which was short lived and quickly quelled, led to an increasing fear that a second revolution might be at hand. The great fear was that with no strong central government, anarchy might result. Shays rebellion was feared to be the opening salvo of that second revolution with more to inevitably follow.

Some, such as Thomas Jefferson, believed the rebellion to be a healthy exercise of political rights. Jefferson commented in a letter to James Madison:

I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary for the sound health of government.

Most statesmen of the day disagreed with Jefferson and saw the rebellion as the onset of anarchy. They believed that the rebellion evidenced the need for a "more perfect union."

Shays's Rebellion was extremely significant.  It was a major factor in frightening the elites of the early US into doing away with the more democratic Articles of Confederation and coming up with the new, more republican Constitution.

The rebellion made the elites fear that the masses of people had too much power and were set to take more power still.  This worried them because they believed that the masses would force governments to implement policies that would be bad for the country.  Because they believed this, they pushed for the creation of a new constitution that would take power from the people and put it more securely in the hands of the elite.

Shays's Rebellion is extremely significant because it heightened these fears and led to the creation of the Constitution.

Shays's Rebellion was a historical event that actually occurred after the Revolutionary War. It happened in Massachusetts between 1786 and 1787. It was basically carried out by farmers that had fought in the Revolutionary War that were unhappy with the current economic situation in the state. They had received next to nothing for fighting in the war and were now facing extremely high taxes that were, for them, impossible to pay.

Originally, the rebellion attempted to use peaceful means to have their voices heard. They protested in or around courthouses, often causing the courts to close. Things slowly started to build in intensity until a sect of the rebellion led by Daniel Shays attempted to procure weapons at an armory. They were shut down by the military, thus ending the rebellion.

The influence and impact of Shays's Rebellion is often debated, but many agree that it was part of the reason George Washington got more involved in politics, as we was involved in stifling the rebellion. It is also commonly said that Shays's Rebellion was one of the reasons a debate about the Articles of Confederation came into national prominence. This debate would eventually lead to the Constitution's creation. It's hard to pin such a thing on one rebellion, though. It could more easily be argued that it created an argument about rights in our country and the power of states versus federal power. It was a big conversation starter, in essence, and scholars vary in their interpretations of how important these conversations were.

Historians typically say that Shays's Rebellion was extremely significant.  Its importance comes from the fact that it helped lead to the creation of the Constitution.

Shays's Rebellion was seen by many of the American elite of the time as a sign that the country was too democratic.  They felt that the rebellion showed that the non-rich were too demanding and were trying to force the state governments to create policies that were damaging to the country as a whole.  Because of this, many of the elites wanted to create a new constitution that would set up a much stronger federal government while taking power away from the states.  This is, of course, what happened later in the very same year that Shays's Rebellion occurred.