The Weaknesses of the
Articles of Confederation and
Shays' Rebellion
(and why money isn't worth the
paper it's printed on)
It's All About Power!
• Why was the central
government so weak?
• Look at the Americans'
experience with the powerful
central government of Britain
• Do the opposite!
But what if the government
doesn't have enough power?
Federal
Rights
States'
Rights
BIG PROBLEMS!
One Major Weakness
Congress did not have the power to
collect taxes from the states.
Could I please have $1000?
NO!
NO!
NO!
NO!
What's a government to do?
Hmmmm....why don't I just print some
more money?
PRINTING
MONEY NEVER
SOLVES YOUR
PROBLEMS!
Which would you rather have?
Money isn't worth the paper it's
printed on!
Money is only worth
what other people
will give you for it!
Paper money represents real
things
One piece
of gold
=
One piece of
paper ($1)
Paper money represents real
things
One can of
soda
=
One piece of
paper ($1)
Therefore...
One can of
soda
=
One piece of
gold
What if you don't have enough?
What if someone won't give you
what you want for the piece of
paper that you have?
Can you just print more paper?
NO! It doesn't work that way!
Remember...paper money represents real
things. You haven't changed the number
of real things, just the number of pieces of
paper!
=
=
ACK! INFLATION!!!
Now your paper money is worth
less!
=
=
Soda used to cost $1. Now it costs $2!
PRINTING MONEY NEVER
SOLVES A GOVERNMENT'S
PROBLEMS!
Inflation was so out of control in Germany
that in 1923, it cost 4 million of their dollars
to buy a loaf of bread!
What we've learned so far...
1. Money is only worth what people will give
you for it.
2. Printing more money doesn't solve your
economic problems.
Weak Government = Problems!
Here's an explanation of how the
weaknesses of the Articles of
Confederation led to Shays' Rebellion,
which led to the creation of the
Constitution.
Daniel Shays
• Captain in the
Revolutionary War
• Retired from the army
• Wanted to be a farmer
in Massachusetts
Uh oh...no money!
• Remember! The Congress didn't have the
power to tax states...they could only ask
for money!
• The states said no!
• So Congress couldn't pay its bills!
• So they printed more money!
• So they caused inflation and made money
worth less!
How can you be a farmer if you
have no money?
Get a loan from the bank!
Plant your seeds!
When your crops are
grown, harvest
them, sell them, and
pay your loan back!
Uh oh...problems!
What if the
bank wants
its money
back NOW?
But your
crops
haven't
grown
yet?
THE REPO MAN COMES!
The bank repossesses the farms and kicks
the former soldiers out of their homes!
Why didn't they have any
money?
• Inflation!
The money they did have
was worthless.
• Taxes!
The state of Massachusetts
had placed high taxes that hit the farmers
very hard.
Who cares about having a farm
anyway?
• Without property, you can't feed
your family!
• Without property, you can't
vote!
• Without property, you can't
make money!
• Without making money, you get
thrown into debtor's prison!
Give me my house!
• Daniel Shays and the
farmers pick up their
guns and go to the
state courthouse to stop
them from foreclosing
on their homes.
• AND IT WORKED!!!
So they kept doing it...
And made the people in the government
afraid!
The government made new
laws that were meant to
punish Shays and his
followers.
The Congress can't help
Since the Articles of Confederation did not
give Congress the power to raise a
standing army, the federal government
could not help stop the rebellion.
The Climax
The state of Massachusetts sets up an
army.
Shays and his followers try to take over a
federal arsenal to get more guns so that
they could fight the army.
Shays and his men lost the battle.
Some of them got the death penalty for
having participated in the rebellion.
To the Constitution...
• The failure of the federal government to
solve the problem of Shays' Rebellion
made people understand that the Articles
of Confederation had made the
government too weak.
• A Constitutional Convention was called to
solve the problem.
The Constitution Is Born!
• After 16 weeks of arguments, the new
Constitution was created.
• And that's the government that we still
have today!
Bibliography for Images
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http://www.swirepacific.com/media/gallery/beverages/download/cokecan.jpg
http://www.esc13.net/flatonia/images/school_lunch.jpg
http://dalesdesigns.net/dollar_front.jpg
http://www.goldcitymall.com/prod_images_small/20gbar.jpg
http://www.mattives.com/_wsn/page3.html
http://www.ecashnotes.com/images/moneywheelbarrel.gif
http://www.octc.kctcs.edu/mmaltby/his108/Articles%20of%20Confederation.jpg
http://people.bu.edu/wwildman/ben/mass/images/shays_daniel.gif
http://billhutton.tripod.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderpictures/constitution.jpeg
http://soilcrop.tamu.edu/photogallery/cornsorghum+/images/corn%20ears.jpg
http://knoster.com/financial/images/foreclosure.jpg
http://www.ysursa.com/history/US%20Hist/shays.jpg
http://www.us-coin-values-advisor.com/images/Shays%20Rebellion.jpg
http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/images/2003/constitution_signing.jpg