“The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people.”
Shays’ Rebellion was repeatedly cited by Federalists as a primary reason to replace the Articles of Confederation with a Constitution with a stronger central government. But what if the threat was exaggerated? Anti-Federalists sure thought so. In this episode,...
Writing to James Madison about Shays’ Rebellion in early 1787, Thomas Jefferson said that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing.” He considered it an essential check on government power – a warning that violations of the constitution and liberty might...
In 1786, a group of veterans from the War for Independence challenged the republican government of Massachusetts over harsh taxation and the lack of debt relief. To many, Shays’ Rebellion necessitated the grant of additional power to Congress…but did it really? In...