Chapter 5: Section 2: The New Nation Faces Challenges

Chapter 5: Section 2: The New Nation Faces Challenges

Trouble in the United States

• Britain is not giving up the forts along the Great Lakes

• Britain closed most of their ports to U.S. ships and raised tariffs

• Spain closed the Mississippi River to U.S. shipping

• States are taxing and not trading with each other

• Veterans of the Revolutionary War were being taxed out of their farms and businesses and they resisted

• Shay's Rebellion protested the high taxes

British Impressment

• Britain needs soldiers for war with Napoleon.

• Britain authorized its navy to take American ships and force the sailors to serve the British Navy

Relations with Other Countries

Under the Articles of Confederation, Congress could not force states to provide soldiers for an army. The Continental Army had disbanded, or dissolved, soon after the signing of the Treaty of Paris of 1783. Without an army, the national government found it difficult to protect its citizens against foreign threats.

Trouble with Britain

It was also difficult to enforce international treaties such as the Treaty of Paris of 1783. The United States found it especially hard to force the British to turn over “with all convenient speed” their forts on the American side of the Great Lakes. The United States wanted to gain control of these forts because they protected valuable land and fur-trade routes. Still, Britain was slow to withdraw from the area. A British official warned against the United States trying to seize the forts by force. He said that any attempt to do so would be opposed by the thousands of British soldiers who had settled in Canada after the Revolution “who are ready to fly to arms at a moment’s warning.” 

Trade with Spain

In 1784 Spanish officials closed the lower Mississippi River to U.S. shipping. Western farmers and merchants were furious because they used the Mississippi to send goods to eastern and foreign markets. Congress tried to work out an agreement with Spain, but the plan did not receive a majority vote in Congress. The plan could not be passed. As a result, Spain broke off the negotiations. Many state leaders began to criticize the national government. Rhode Island’s representatives wrote, “Our federal government is but a name; a mere shadow without substance [power].” Critics believed that Spain might have continued to negotiate if the United States had possessed a strong military. These leaders believed that the national government needed to be more powerful. 

Dis-United States

In 1785 the situation led a British magazine to call the new nation the Dis-United States. As a result of the trade problems with Britain, American merchants began looking for other markets such as China, France, and the Netherlands. Despite such attempts, Britain remained the most important trading partner of the United States.

Economic Problems

In addition to international trade issues, other challenges soon appeared. Trade problems among the states, war debts, and a weak economy plagued the states. Trade among States Because the Confederation Congress had no power to regulate interstate commerce— trade between two or more states—states followed their own trade interests. As a result, trade laws differed from state to state. This situation made trade difficult for merchants whose businesses crossed state lines.

Shay’s Rebellion

Each state handled its economic problems differently. Massachusetts refused to print worthless paper money. It tried to pay its war debts by collecting taxes on land. Heavy Debts for Farmers Massachusetts’s tax policy hit farmers hard. As landowners, they had to pay the new taxes. However, farmers had trouble paying their debts. The courts began forcing them to sell their property. Some farmers had to serve terms in debtors’ prison; others had to sell their labor Many government leaders in the state did not care about the problems of poor farmers, however. In some cases, farmers actually owed these leaders money

Farmers Rebel

In August 1786, farmers in three western counties began a revolt. Bands of angry citizens closed down courts in western Massachusetts. Their reasoning was simple—with the courts shut down, no one’s property could be taken. In September a poor farmer and Revolutionary War veteran, Daniel Shays, led hundreds of men in a forced shutdown of the Supreme Court in Springfield, Massachusetts. The state government ordered the farmers to stop the revolt under threat of capture and death. These threats only made Shays and his followers more determined. The uprising of farmers to protest high taxes and heavy debt became known as Shays’s Rebellion. 

Shay’s Defeat

Shays’s forces were defeated by state troops in January 1787. By February many of the rebels were in prison. During their trials, 14 leaders were sentenced to death. However, the state soon freed most of the rebels, including Shays. State officials knew that many citizens of the state agreed with the rebels and their cause.