8 - Judicial Review and Legislative Supremacy in Rhode Island: The Case of Trevett v. Weeden, 1786, and Its Aftermath

Summary

The economic crisis that crippled New Hampshire in 1786 also beset other New England states. Throughout the region during the summer and fall of 1786, the economic hard times led to political and constitutional turmoil that took partially different forms in each state. In Massachusetts, a legislature that was almost completely unresponsive to popular petitions for relief, contributed to setting off a sizeable armed (Shay’s) rebellion in western counties beginning in the late summer. In New Hampshire, where the legislature had been somewhat more responsive to popular outcries for relief, a smaller armed uprising was quickly put down, and a bridgehead against unconstrained majoritarian politics was established in the courts. In Rhode Island, as in other states, small farmers, who commonly needed to borrow to plant new crops, felt the burden of increased taxation to pay off the war debt especially acutely.