What was one effect of Shays' Rebellion? Leaders agreed that a stronger national government was needed. State governments rejected the republican form of government. Leaders proposed the idea of strengthening state governments. State governments refused to provide relief to struggling farmers.

One effect of Shay's Rebellion was that leaders agreed that a stronger national government was needed. The leaders, including Thomas Jefferson, were shocked to see how the rebellion played out and realized that the angry farmers were not being quelled, so more had to be done. There were no rules on how to handle the situation which had become out of control, and state and governmental leaders realized they needed a stronger, centralized government.