Ok, I had an idea for my first thread on AH.com, and I just wanted to get some input.
POD: Roger Sherman dies earlier than OTL, in 1786; after he signs the Articles of Confederation, but prior to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Roger Sherman contracts cholera during January of 1786 while working in New Haven as that city’s mayor, and dies on February 17. The people of Connecticut mourn the death of an important figure; Sherman had signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of his home state. Thomas Jefferson said of him “That is Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, a man who never said a foolish thing in his life." The United States had lost perhaps one of the coolest heads among its founding fathers. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the United States’ government was being called into question.
The Articles of Confederation had given Congress the ability to make laws and print money, but little power to raise funds or to enforce its laws. Essentially, the Articles relied on the individual states to donate funds requested by Congress and needless to say, many states simply didn’t fulfill these requests or enforce all of the laws passed by the Congress. Money printed by the Congress began to become extremely devalued as it was unable to pay its debts incurred during the war. In 1785, John Adams was sent to London to negotiate a treaty of unrestricted trade and commerce between Great Britain and the United States. Adams was unable to secure a treaty with London because it was unclear whether the individual states would all sign such a treaty; when the British refused a free trade agreement, Adams called on each state to issue retaliatory legislation against Great Britain, closing their ports to British shipping. However, if individual states did honor Adams’ request, their neighbors were quick to open their ports to the British, undermining the punitive aspect of this action and making a killing while other states suffered economic hardship.
Tensions regarding overtaxation of farmers rose to a head in August of 1786, when Daniel Shays organized many veterans of the Revolutionary War and farmers into a militia opposing the government of the state of Massachusetts. Many veterans of the war with Great Britain returned home unpaid by the Continental government and faced charges of unpaid taxes incurred during the time that they fought in the Revolution. This injustice caused many farmers and common people in Massachusetts to join the so-called Shays’ Rebellion. Eventually, the governor of Massachusetts raised the militia to put down the rebellion and over 1,000 arrests of rebellious commoners were made. This incident called into question the power of the Articles of Confederation further, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called by Congress.
Basically, I'm looking to butterfly away the OTL Connecticut Compromise by killing off its architect and main proponent. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.
POD: Roger Sherman dies earlier than OTL, in 1786; after he signs the Articles of Confederation, but prior to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.
Roger Sherman contracts cholera during January of 1786 while working in New Haven as that city’s mayor, and dies on February 17. The people of Connecticut mourn the death of an important figure; Sherman had signed the Continental Association, the Declaration of Independence, and the Articles of Confederation as a representative of his home state. Thomas Jefferson said of him “That is Mr. Sherman, of Connecticut, a man who never said a foolish thing in his life." The United States had lost perhaps one of the coolest heads among its founding fathers. Meanwhile, the effectiveness of the United States’ government was being called into question.
The Articles of Confederation had given Congress the ability to make laws and print money, but little power to raise funds or to enforce its laws. Essentially, the Articles relied on the individual states to donate funds requested by Congress and needless to say, many states simply didn’t fulfill these requests or enforce all of the laws passed by the Congress. Money printed by the Congress began to become extremely devalued as it was unable to pay its debts incurred during the war. In 1785, John Adams was sent to London to negotiate a treaty of unrestricted trade and commerce between Great Britain and the United States. Adams was unable to secure a treaty with London because it was unclear whether the individual states would all sign such a treaty; when the British refused a free trade agreement, Adams called on each state to issue retaliatory legislation against Great Britain, closing their ports to British shipping. However, if individual states did honor Adams’ request, their neighbors were quick to open their ports to the British, undermining the punitive aspect of this action and making a killing while other states suffered economic hardship.
Tensions regarding overtaxation of farmers rose to a head in August of 1786, when Daniel Shays organized many veterans of the Revolutionary War and farmers into a militia opposing the government of the state of Massachusetts. Many veterans of the war with Great Britain returned home unpaid by the Continental government and faced charges of unpaid taxes incurred during the time that they fought in the Revolution. This injustice caused many farmers and common people in Massachusetts to join the so-called Shays’ Rebellion. Eventually, the governor of Massachusetts raised the militia to put down the rebellion and over 1,000 arrests of rebellious commoners were made. This incident called into question the power of the Articles of Confederation further, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787 was called by Congress.
Basically, I'm looking to butterfly away the OTL Connecticut Compromise by killing off its architect and main proponent. Any comments or suggestions are welcome.