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Early American Rebellions. What is a rebellion? How is a rebellion different than a protest? When should people protest? When should people rebel? Many early Americans engaged in rebellion to express their displeasure with the government. . Power of the Government Grows.
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Early American Rebellions • What is a rebellion? • How is a rebellion different than a protest? • When should people protest? • When should people rebel? • Many early Americans engaged in rebellion to express their displeasure with the government.
Power of the Government Grows Daniel Shays was a veteran of the American Revolution. He owed a great amount of debt. Other small farmers could not pay their debts plus the new taxes.
Shay’s Rebellion • 1787: A group of 1,200 farmers led by Daniel Shay took an arsenal of weapons. They wanted to close the courts so the government could not foreclose on their farms. • State Militia put down the revolt
Shay’s Importance The rebellion… • …proved that something was wrong in the new country. • …provoked Congress & President Washington to wonder if their policies would allow the United States to be successful for a long time.
Federal Government in Debt • Secretary of the Treasury Department, Alexander Hamilton, wanted to increase revenue for the United States. • Congress passed a sales tax on the manufacture of Whiskey, which made Whiskey producers angry.
Cause of Anger • Whiskey was the Appalachian region’s source of cash. • Whiskey producers were poor small farmers. • Corn, used to make the whiskey, was already hard to transport over the mountains.
The Whiskey Rebellion • 1794: Pennsylvanian farmers refused to pay the whiskey tax. • Violent fights between the farmers and federal marshals broke out. • President Washington ordered 15,000 militiamen to put down the revolt.
Whiskey Rebellion Importance • The 1st time that the Federal Government used its power to deal with domestic (inside the country) affairs. • Gave the Federal Government power over states’ in the Union.
A Fugitive Takes the Lead • 1825: Nat Turner, a slave, fled his owner’s plantation after a severe beating. • Instead of going North he stayed in the South, Virginia, and preached to slaves and freemen about a rebellion.
Nat Turner’s Rebellion 1831:Nat Turner & 50 followers attacked 4 plantations. • 70 whites killed • Plantation owner and workers executed 16 members of the revolt. • Turner was hunted down & hung. • Whites killed 200+ innocent blacks.
Turner’s Rebellion Importance • Harder to ignore anger toward the slave-plantation system. • Whites in the North became increasingly aware of slavery’s brutality in the South. • Southern plantation owners increasingly afraid. • Abolition movement grows in the North. • Violence against blacks increases along with laws restricting blacks’ rights.
Were any of these violent actions justified? • Yes, because… • No, because…