Name: _________________________________

Date: __________________________________
The Articles of Confederation Needed to Change
Cut out the squares on the next page. Decide whether the information is a POSITIVE or a
CHALLENGE and glue that information in the correction column of the chart below.
Positives under the AofC
Challenges under the AofC

States AND the federal government could print

paper money; however, there was not any gold to
back up the money. This led to inflation and the
decrease in moneys value.

Britain did not remove her troops from US soil and

there was no American army or navy to force them
to leave.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established

how the Confederation Congress could govern the
western territories and how those territories could
eventual become their own states.

The Confederation Congress established trade

treaties with several European countries, resulting
in an increase in trade for the United States.

People with property believed that if states could

pass laws that forced citizens to accept worthless
money at face-value, then debt-ridden citizens
controlled the state assemblies.

The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 guaranteed

freedom of religion, property rights, and the right
to trial by jury to those living in the Northwest
territories.

The Paris Peace Treaty (1783) said that debts to

British lenders had to be repaid and that
confiscated land owned by Loyalists had to be
returned. The Confederation Congress could not
force states to do these two things.

The Confederation Congress could not pay the

citizen soldiers of the Revolution because they
could not raise revenue.

The Confederation Congress could not regulate

trade. Therefore, states imposed duties (taxes on
imported goods) at different rates and taxed other
states goods to raise revenue.

States increased taxes in order to pay off

Revolutionary War debts. Unfortunately, because
of the economic downturn, this caused more
money troubles to the average citizens.

The federal government could not tax the citizens

of the USA, yet had to pay off debts from the
American Revolution.

The Confederation Congress could sell land west of

the Appalachian Mountains, and established an
orderly system for the dividing and selling of the
territory (Land Ordinance of 1785).
The Spain and the US disputed over the FloridaGeorgia border, and Spain would not let American
ships into the Mississippi River. The Confederation
Congress did not have the power to solve the
diplomatic problem.

Because of a decrease in British trade, the United

States experienced a severe recession, or
economic slowdown.
Merchants began to reject the worthless stateprinted paper money. In Rhode Island, a mob
rioted against the merchants, which led to Rhode
Islands assembly to pass a law that state money
had to be accepted.

Daniel Shays Rebellion

https://goo.gl/dQ5HyM

1. In which year was Shays Rebellion?

2. Why had Shays already been in prison?
3. What did George Washington think that he would be able to do after the War?
4. What was the critical period for the United States?
5. What was one of the BIG powers under the Articles of Confederation?
6. Why did Samuel Adams have a hard time in the Continental Congress?
7. What did Daniel Shays do during the American Revolution?
8. What happened to the money that the soldiers received as payment for their service?
9. How did the Revolutionary War impact the farmers in western Massachusetts?
10.What could happen to a farmer who could not pay his loans?
11.Who did Daniel Shays believe was in cahoots (conspiring) in eastern Massachusetts?
12.What did you have to own in most states in order to vote during the 1780s?
13.What did the farmers and debtors of western MA want to give the General Assembly in
Boston?
14.How was the General Assembly planning on raising money to pay the state debt and
contribute to the federal government?
15.What did Daniel Shays sell to try to stay out of debt?
16.How did the Shaysites view the state courts?
17.How many descended upon the debtors courts in Springfield, MA?
18.What was the first victory for the Shaysites?
19.What were the THREE actions Samuel Adams took in reaction to the rebellions of the
Shaysites?
20.Who wrote to George Washington about the rebellions in Massachusetts?
21.What did the letters to Washington suggest?
22.In January of 1787, what did the Shaysites do in reaction to the organization of the
mercenaries?
23.Where did the Shaysites go?

24.What were Daniel Shays, Luke Day, and Eli Parsons planning on doing after they acquired
the guns and ammunition?
25.What happened to the message that was sent by Shays to Day & Parson?
26.Why was Shays plea for help not answered?
27.What happened to the men that General Lincoln captured?
28.After Shays Rebellion, what did some Americans fear could happen to the young republic?
29.What did Carol Berkin call General George Washington? What do you think this means?
30.Who told Washington that he would be the father of your country and that his glory
would be bigger?
31.How did the people of Philadelphia react to Washingtons arrival?
32.Why did the delegates close all the windows in the late spring of 1786?
33.What decision did the delegates make about the Articles of Confederation?
34.What do you think Carol Berkin means by a bloodless coup detat?
35.How long did the Constitutional Convention debate?
36.Which group wanted a stronger federal government that could raise an army and issue
taxes?
37.Which group wanted most of the power to be held by the states?
38.What compromise did these two groups come to?
39.What was signed into law on September 17, 1787?
40.What was included in the Constitution because of Shays Rebellion?
41.What did some framers fear about the lower classes?
42.Where was the first Congress held under the Constitution in June of 1789?
43.What did Daniel Shays receive in 1788?
44.What did Shays final receive from the government when he was in his seventies?
45.Why is Shays Rebellion important to American History?