Question
What stronger evidence can be given of the want of energy in our governments than these disorders? If there exists not a power to check them, what security has a man of life, liberty, or property? . . . The consequences of a lax, or inefficient government, are too obvious to be dwelt on.
–George Washington,
Letter to James Madison, 1786
What was a result of the concerns expressed in this letter?
the drafting of the Articles of Confederation
the uprising in Massachusetts known as Shays’s Rebellion
the call for the Constitutional Convention
the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution
–George Washington,
Letter to James Madison, 1786
What was a result of the concerns expressed in this letter?
the drafting of the Articles of Confederation
the uprising in Massachusetts known as Shays’s Rebellion
the call for the Constitutional Convention
the addition of the Bill of Rights to the Constitution
Answers
GPT-5 mini
the call for the Constitutional Convention
Washington's 1786 concerns about "want of energy" in government (sparked by events like Shays's Rebellion) helped lead to calls to revise the Articles of Confederation and the convening of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.
Washington's 1786 concerns about "want of energy" in government (sparked by events like Shays's Rebellion) helped lead to calls to revise the Articles of Confederation and the convening of the Constitutional Convention in 1787.