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The Revolutionary War had been financed by borrowing. Some of it was international, from Spain , Holland and France. Some of it was with promissory notes, like the Continental Currency that was paid to soldiers and used by the Army to pay for goods and services. This resulted in deflation, with hard currency, like Spanish gold dollars, becoming very scarce and more valuable. Because of this, there was an increased use of notes, essentially IOU's, that were passed around, especially in the rural areas. In Massachusetts the powerful Boston merchants could no longer buy from their foreign counterparts with only credit, and needed hard currency. They prevailed on the legislature to require all public debts to be paid with hard currency. Suddenly, in July of 1786, farmers discovered that unless they could find hard currency to pay their taxes, they could lose their farms. Debtors were unable to pay heir debts, and were thrown in jail. Even worse, quite a few had been in the Continental Army and had been paid with the valueless Continental currency. There were calls for a stay on foreclosures, debtor-relief laws, and an inflated currency, but the legislature , dominated by the merchants and creditors, refused. The result was Shay's Rebellion: a band of armed men led by a veteran of Bunker Hill and Saratoga. They appeared in Springfield and prevented the courts from doing business, i.e. taking their farms. The rebellion was half-hearted, and the suppression of it as well. But it also forced the Massachusetts government to back away from the law. That served as a warning to the States, that a population could take up arms over the issue and that a demagogue might use it. George Washington said, when he heard of it, that "there are combustibles in every State, which a spark may set fire to". Madison was similarly worried about popular revolts. He was concerned about giving everyone the vote, and feared debtor-relief laws and paper currency : he was of the wealthy Virginia gentry, and such things undermined their authority and wealth. "Men without reading, experience or principle", he said,were writing dangerous laws.

The huge national debt was a major reason for the Convention to meet to draft a constitution: some sort of plan was needed for it to be paid. Money, paper or not, was generally on everyone's mind. The popular unrest made it more likely that, when they met, the delegates would consider not just a few small alterations to the Articles of Confederation but something much broader, creating a much more powerful federal government.

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John Ferling A Leap in the Dark