Life and Views of a Western Farmer
After the Revolutionary War, the United States was in a state of economic chaos. Depression and inflation were prevalent as a result of the war. Established trading patterns were in disarray. The Congress had no power at this time under the Articles of Confederation. In the thirteen states, where power was centered, the separate currencies were in shambles. The United States was in need of a government with power and control because the Articles of Confederation were lacking many things and had left the government powerless. Life as a Western Farmer in the 1780s Life as a western Massachusetts farmer at this time was difficult to say the least. Farmers produced just enough from their land to support their families. If they were lucky and had a good year, there might be enough extra crops to sell or trade for goods. Farmers lived in the constant fear that they could lose their land and/or freedom to debt collectors. Unable to trade with foreign countries, the New England area merchants had to collect on loans made to farmers to make up for the lack of income from foreign trade. If the farmer could not pay the debt, his land coul
Merchants and court employees especially realized the need for an organized military after being targets of the rebellious farmers during Shays' Rebellion. As more and more merchants began attempting to collect debts owed to them by farmers, tensions between the two were beginning to boil over. This not only affected the farmers, but the rest of the United States. The rebellion consisted mainly of poor farmers threatened with loss of property and imprisonment for debt. In addition, farmers protested excessive taxes on property and poll taxes that prevented the poor from voting. Views of the People in General on the Constitution When it came time to ratify the Constitution, support was varying. Generally, poor farmers and working class people abhorred the idea of a strong federal government while the wealthy merchants, bankers and lawyers supported these concepts. d be taken to cover the debt (Szatmary 19). The Constitution was going to give the government the power to engage in foreign relations and trade. The working class and farmers were not represented in this group (Miller 12). Farmers, therefore, rallied for the government issue of paper money (Davis 83). Merchants could not trade with other countries on their own and, as a result, were losing significant amounts of income. Foreign trade could not be established without government power. Even though the new government would be run by the rich and powerful, I feel that some farmers may have supported the Constitution.
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Acceptance Essays
