Alexander Hamilton was a troll, the

In Federalist 6, Hamilton tries to convince readers that dissent between states often comes from leaders' personal whims/issues. He then blames Shays Rebellion on Shays being a "DESPERATE DEBTOR" (capitalization is his)

This is partially true. Shays owed a lot of money... to the government that he had just helped establish. After receiving no military pension or post-war support, Shays went back home to Mass. and did what everyone did back then. He started making whiskey.

Now, in the meantime, the new US govt (which at the time was still operating as a confederation, with little ~legal~ centralized power) needed . After all, they were completely failing in their promises to support the vets that helped them win the revolutionary war.

So Washington calls up Hamilton, asking him to serve as Sec. of the Treasury. Hamilton says "Sure, I got some great ideas to create a general tax fund".

(P.S. - If you believe that Hamilton (Sec of Treasury) birthed the Dems and Jefferson (Sec of State) birthed the GOP, then this is the part in the story where you realize that those parties have been damned ever since to be bad at foreign policy and economics, respectively)

But I digress... Hamiltom comes up with this insane plan to tax whiskey. It'll make a bunch of cash and help pay our boys, everyone's happy.

Everyone is hella skeptical, even Washington. But they go along with it because

Well, as it turns out, soldiers that just fought *against* oppressive taxes aren't terribly receptive to new taxes - especially after being denied the compensation they were promised by the that is now taxing them.

So my boy Shays rounds up some good ole boys and raids Springfield Armory. Gets some gats, food, etc. Goes full-on Bundy Ranch Standoff. After all, he just spent the past few years doing exactly this. This is literally what Washington taught the dude to do.

Eventually, the rebellion gets put down by a standing army that was illegally formed by a central government that didn't really exist.

All of this is making the anti-federalist types pretty uncomfortable. This shadowy "government" is really starting to resemble .

So instead of apologizing, Hamilton and the Federalists think "Wait... taxing people is pretty fun, and a standing army under our control is even better!" So they begin crafting a new constitution. After all, those things can't be illegal if the old government doesn't exist!

But a lot of people are really not cool with all this. They literally just got done fighting this exact thing. So Hamilton has to become a colonial PR firm and run a campaign to try and convince people that "Just trust me bro, come on bro, itll be fine bro!!"

Hamilton knows this is scummy, and won't be terribly well perceived by most Americans. He knows this so well, in fact, that he literally writes under a pseudonym - ya'know, as all brave and noble leaders do /s

And thusly the Federalist Papers are born. While trying to convince people that this new central government "is akshually good and not at all like that last one!" he realizes he must address "Dissensions Between the States"...

And it is then that Hamilton's creased, determined mouth contorts itself into a devilish grin.

Hamilton uses Federalist 6 to basically say that central govt fixes the problem of individuals with personal issues starting wars. As an example, he names Shays, the leader of the "civil war" (he literally calls it that, despite only 9 deaths) in Massachusetts.

Yes, the same Shays that Hamilton, just years prior, asked to risk his life. The same Shays that he taught to fight oppresive taxation. The same Shays that he refused to compensate post-war, and the same Shays THAT WAS MADE A 'DESPERATE DEBTOR' BY HAMILTON'S OWN BS TAX POLICY!!!

In closing: Hamilton was like the original Lee Atwater, and would have made Roger Stone blush.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk, and remember kids: