Abraham Lincoln: Shays Rebellion

» Brian Tubbs - Shays Rebellion

It was Shays Rebellion - the uprising that occurred prior to the Constitution.

In addition to your great litany of scenarios and events that would've turned out differently had we opted for the "anti-federalist" perspective, we should be reminded of what happened at Newburgh at the end of the Revolutionary War. That crisis was one more event which underlined the need for a federalist society. Washington had to resort to a little stage-acting with his glasses to head off what would have been a major, major crisis in our nation's early history. (Just imagine if the Continental Army had demanded a stronger, centralized government in 1783! To get you to appreciate Washington even more, imagine if he had agreed with suggestions that he march at their head to become king or dictator). Yet the Newburgh crisis would NOT have happened at all had the U.S., at that point, been under the 1787 Constitution (and had Treasury Secretary Hamilton worked his magic then as he did later).

-Brian Tubbs
Contributing Editor
American Revolution & Founding Era

-- posted by Brian Tubbs