1.) The document was signed July 4, 1776 by Thomas Jefferson and gave all men the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” The significance of the Declaration of Independence was that it gave the United States a route towards independence from Great Britain. The document essentially stated that your rights do not come from man, or else man could take them away. Under King George III, these rights did not exist because everyone was allowed a “limit package” of rights based on their status in the caste system. It declared that we were now an independent nation and we should not have a King rule over us; he treated us unfairly. As a British colony, we were supposed to enjoy the same liberties that a British citizen did. However, with all of the unnecessary taxes, misrepresentation, and unjust acts such as the Quartering act, we felt that our time under Great Britain had expired. These were some of the reasons why we broke free from Great Britain.

2.) Shay’s Rebellion was significant because it showed how weak the central government was under the execution of the Articles of Confederation. Shay’s Rebellion consisted of a group of radical farmers lead by a former army captain by the name of Daniel Shay against the government because of a tax they couldn’t pay. The government had too much power because there weren’t any restrictions of state laws, so the states could technically do what they wanted without any consequences due to unfair laws. The local government was abusing its power to tax which became a major issue. The reason no one could pay the debts they owed the states was because there wasn’t any common currency; the taxes had to be paid in gold and silver, but the people only had paper money. Also, the Articles of Confederation didn’t have a Bill of Rights, so the people didn’t have any promised freedom. The significance of Shay’s Rebellion paved the path to amending the Articles of Confederation, creating the Constitution, which supported a strong