The Shays Rebellion was an armed conflict that took place in Massachusetts during 1786 and 1787, pitting Daniel Shays's rebels against the government. The origin of this conflict was the serious economic and financial situation of the country after the war, where the government demanded many ex-soldiers to pay their debts without granting any type of concession. This angered Shays and many other men, who viewed these demands as tyrannical and unfair. So they decided to arm themselves against the government and assaulted the Springfield armory. In view of this situation, the Massachusetts government asked for help from the federal government, which under the Articles of Confederation could not easily mobilize troops because it needed the agreement of the member states. Therefore, Massachusetts had to mobilize its own militia to defeat the rebels.
This situation revealed the weakness of the Articles of Confederation regarding military issues, given the inability to provide a quick response to an internal threat.
The goals of the Corps of Discovery, whose cadre would be raised primarily from the U.S. military, was to explore the Louisiana Purchase, and establish trade and U.S. sovereignty over the native peoples along the Missouri River.
