Catalyzing the new Constitutional Convention

A concerned George Washington wrote to David humphrey about the insurgence of the Shays' rebellion rebels. 

   One of the main limiting forces in why the United States was still operating under a weakened form of government was that a faction called the Anti-federalists. Their opposition to the creation of a federal government with supreme power over the states was due to a fear of relapse into an oppressive monarchical system. Antifederalists feared a group of out of touch federalist elite to grab as much power as they could and create a sort of vacuum that would cast aside the needs of the western common folk. During such a time where shifting ideals were becoming more enlightened their awareness was extremely heightened. Widespread pamphlets like Thomas Paine’s Common Sense ⁴  pushed a sense of urgency in being proactive in their avoidance of slipping into a more controlling type of system. They believed that having almost separate sovereign rule in the states would end up creating a much safer and constituent oriented makeup then the alternative. Before the rebellions started to pop up from their dissatasfaction, there wasn't much to point at in the way of being concerned with the current Articles. 

   The impact of these violent protests were not taken lightly and gathered attention nationwide. At the top of this page you can see a letter written by a concerned George Washington to a military commander by the name of David Humphreys. In the letter he speaks about how he is concerned about the potentially exponential momentum of a group like this. An inability to stop or impede the momentum of something violent from inside your own country shows that there are definite structural flaws. He states “Commotions of this sort, like snow-balls, gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the way to divide and crumble them.” ⁵ Gathering from information in this text we can see that there was a diligent awareness of the exponential devastation that can occur when there is no opposing force. Many leaders knew how there was little they could do if this movement continued to grow further out of hand.

For months these protests continued and were haphazardly combated by militias. Until January 1787 when 2,000 men led by Daniel Shay decided to seize a federal armory in Springfield Massachusetts. This attack was repelled and hundreds were tried with treason but the boldness and accumulation of near anarchical actions instilled fear in lawmakers and founders alike. As stated in Shays Rebellion by Leonard Richards, “Within months, Shays rebellion gave the nationalists the edge they needed. It provided the spark on which to advance the nationalist cause and play on the fears of others.” ⁶ Over the course of the few months, a seed had been planted in the hearts of tens of thousands of Americans. It was true that maybe a stronger central power could lead to some of the problems they fought so hard to avoid but it was a risk they needed to take. This more pressing issue was forced upon them with speed and magnitude, and the thought of America crumbling due their inability to deal with internal conflicts was the more unbearable choice. The democracy that their nation fought so hard for would quickly crumble into anarchy if there was nothing in place to administer peace and ensure the laws were followed. Leaders like Patrick Henry and George Mason had to pick their poison, and the more pressing and currently unsolvable issue was their inability to administer their states peace. George Washington himself feared a repeat of these rebellions but with larger magnitude and monumental effect. Letters were sent out, a date was decided upon, and in May of 1787 the Constitutional Convention commenced. This go around the federalist opposition was greatly swayed and the group worked with more of a united heart and mind.