Danielle Klouse

U.S History
American Republic Analysis Questions
8/31/15

1.

The issue causing American grievances towards the British government was Parliament's attempt to

force taxes on the American colonies due to the major debt that followed Great Britain after the Seven Years'
War. For example, the Stamp Act was passed in 1765 demanding that all documents and newspapers use
special stamped paper. This resulted in protests in the colonies. Parliament continued to tax the colonists and
started the Townshend Acts which placed levies on certain commodities after they entered the colonies. The
American colonists boycotted British goods and resorted to violence to communicate that they lacked
representation in Parliament. This problem caused more and more colonial resistance and was the main reason
for the American's resentment toward the British government.
2.

Violence broke out between the colonists and British troops because of the constant violent protesting

from the colonists. The colonists continually boycotted British goods and even dumped 18,000 pounds of British
tea into the Boston Harbor. The tension rose between the colonists and the British, and the British soon found out
that a patriot militia had stockpiled gunpowder and cannons 15 miles from Boston. Eventually the British and
colonists were ambushing and assaulting each other, driving a wedge even further between them. The violence
continued and many British soldiers and colonists were killed. This was not justified because the British and
colonists both began attacking each other out of anger and frustration, not out of defense. This made matters
worse for the American colonists hoping to become independent.
3.

Under the Articles of Confederation, each state was independent and trying to work together. This wasn't

very effective because the Congress was very weak. It was the only branch of national government and it did not
have the power to force states to agree with all of their decisions. This caused major issues with America's debt
since Congress could not levy taxes to pay it off. Some states had more debt than others and farmers were soon
affected when their land was seized and auctioned off if they couldn't pay their taxes. The Articles of
Confederation proved to be very broken and defective which only caused anger and tension to rise.

4.

States were hesitant to come to Massachusetts' aid during Shay's Rebellion because of fear of uprising in

their own states. Because of Shay's Rebellion, many farmers got to keep their land and shut down courts in the
western half of the state. If other states were to help, it would influence more rebellions. Shay's rebellion also
convinced other states that they needed a better form of government, which would also explain why they didn't
want to help Massachusetts. Based off of the conditions in Massachusetts, it is likely that other states were not in
the best condition. Many other states were in debt and already seizing land from farmers, so most states seemed
to be focusing on containing themselves.
5.

The Constitution focused on benefiting the people, states, and nation as a whole. It settle disagreements

over representation of congress, slavery, and how much power to give the government and the people. The new
congress was made bicameral instead of being unicameral. It was also decided that every 5 slaves would count
as representation in congress, and the slaves could be taxed as property. The Constitution also ensures that the
three branches of government do not gain too much power and protects the government from the people. This is
a major improvement compared to the Articles of Confederation because they couldn't force any states to agree
with their decisions, meaning that the people had more power over the government.
6.

The Constitution is sometimes described as a document based on compromise because it took a lot of

agreements and settlements to make it work between all of the states. There were many disagreements between
many states about slave owners, free states and people who feared too much democracy. In order for the
constitution to work, there had to be some kind of compromise. People like Roger Sherman introduced the
Great Compromise and helped settle disagreements over slavery and how much power the government and the
people were allowed.
7.

Anti-Federalists were people who worried that the new change in government would make it too

powerful and take liberties away from people. New York refused to ratify the Constitution unless there was
something to protect the rights of people and the states. Eventually, Federalists agreed upon adding the ten
amendments to the Constitution, which promised the rights of people and the states.