US Citizenship Podcast: 250 to 250: 85. Shays' Rebellion, Narrated by Senator Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren is a prominent and influential progressive U.S. Senator from Massachusetts with a strong focus on economic justice, consumer protection, and financial regulation. Warren recounts Shays' Rebellion, the farmers' uprising that exposed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation and spurred the drafting of the Constitution. ‪

In 1786, many farmers in western Massachusetts had money problems.

They could not pay their taxes and debts.
Some farmers were in danger of losing their farms.
They asked the Massachusetts government for help.
The government did not give them the help they wanted.
Daniel Shays and other farmers began to protest.
They closed some courts to stop farmers from losing their property.
This protest became known as Shays' Rebellion.
The national government was weak under the Articles of Confederation.
Congress had difficulty raising money to respond to the rebellion.
A private militia helped stop the rebellion in 1787.
Leaders such as George Washington worried that the national government was too weak.
In May 1787, delegates met in Philadelphia to create a stronger government.
They wrote the U.S. Constitution.

POP Interview and Civics Quiz:

N-400 Part 9:31. Do you support the Constitution and form of Government of the United States?
USCIS 100:02. What does the Constitution do?
USCIS 128:14. Many documents influenced the U.S. Constitution. Name one.

Family Fun:

US Citizenship Podcast