United States History Question of the Day
Answer and Explanation


Shays's Rebellion, 1786
(Source:Wikimedia Commons--public domain)

Question 0100203:

To those who were concerned with Shays's Rebellion, it was a warning that
 
    (A)    the federal government was much too weak
    (B)    slave uprisings were a constant threat to domestic tranquility
    (C)    the federal militia was too strong
    (D)   protecting states' rights was very important
    (E)    the possibility of a military coup was real

Answer:
 
    (A)    the federal government was much too weak
Explanation: Daniel Shays led the revolt of a group of disaffected western Massachusetts farmers who were distressed by mounting debt. The violence and anger of their protest worried those who were fearful of domestic unrest. George Washington emerged from his self-imposed retirement because of his concern and wrote "What a triumph for the advocates of despotism, to find that we are incapable of governing ourselves and that systems founded on the basis of equal liberty are merely ideal and fallacious.." Thomas Jefferson, by contrast, was not alarmed and wrote to a friend "a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants."
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