In 1786, the Massachusetts government was seizing farmers' lands and
throwing them in jail for unpaid debts and taxes. But many people
couldn't pay because they had not yet been paid for fighting in the
Revolutionary War just a few years before. Frustrated by this treatment,
Daniel Shays led upset citizens in an armed revolt. Although their
rebellion was short lived, it made clear to America's leaders that the
young nation needed to change its laws, paving the way for the creation
of the U.S. Constitution.