American Centuries

Pocumtuck Valley
Memorial Association

American Centuries > Lessons > History Lessons By Teachers > Shays’ Rebellion and American Promises

Shays’ Rebellion and American Promises

Details

Author
Lisa West
Topic/Subject Area
Politics, Government, Law, Civics
Historical Era
The New Nation, 1784–1815
Grade Level
High School (9–12)
Creation Date
Last Revision Date
2024

Related items

About This Lesson

Summary and Objective

This activity is designed to explore Shays’ Rebellion as it relates to the theme of “American Promises” and the question, “How have Americans understood the promises of the American Revolution as expressed in our founding documents and in what ways have Americans contested and claimed these ‘promises’?” It is designed to help students gain a better understanding of a local historical event and its impact on the newly forming American federal government.

Materials & Resources

Collection Items

Teaching Plan

  1. Background: Students will have studied the American Revolutionary War. Students will be familiar with the causes, actions, impact and results of the war on a national, state and local level.
  2. Students will access PVMA’s American Centuries website and the collection created for this activity which includes documents relating to the causes, events and results of Shays’ Rebellion.
  3. The students will create a timeline of events related to Shays’ Rebellion using the dates provided by each document. (Chronological understanding is key to students’ ability to discern causes and results.)
  4. Students will read through the documents in chronological order and answer the following questions.
    1. Would you classify this document as a cause, event or result of Shays’ Rebellion?
    2. If you classify it as a cause, identify why.
    3. If you classify it as an event, identify where the event takes place.
    4. If you classify it as an event, identify who is involved. Who is the leader of the regulators? Who are the regulators? What town(s) are they from? What other people are involved? What are their roles?
    5. If you classify it as a result, does it have a negative or positive impact and for which people?
  5. Students will write an essay responding to the following. Using your understanding of “American Promises” as reflected in the causes and results of the American Revolution and the causes and results of Shays’ Rebellion would you agree or disagree with the statement, “Shays’ Rebellion was the result of the betrayal of American Promises.” Support your position with evidence from your text, the documents found on the American Centuries website and additional academic sources.