Final answer:
The leaders of the settler uprisings demanded liberty and republican government on behalf of the settlers, particularly debt-burdened farmers and war veterans who felt unrepresented. The constitutional design was a compromise that sought to balance individual liberties with maintaining order, guided by enlightenment principles and the need for a republican government.
Step-by-step explanation:
The leaders of the settler uprisings, such as those involved in Shays's Rebellion, demanded liberty and republican government on behalf of the settlers, many of whom were debt-ridden farmers and veterans of the Revolutionary War. These leaders believed that the people should be the source of political authority rather than a monarchy or a distant centralized government. The grievances that spurred these uprisings were heavily influenced by the lack of responsiveness of the state governments to the needs of the settlers, especially in terms of economic hardship and heavy taxation. These events were symptomatic of a larger debate on the role of the national government, its power over individual liberties, and who held the keys to political power in the newly independent states of America.
The compromise and the constitutional design of the American government were a response to these conflicting views. The Founding Fathers, influenced by Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke and Baron Montesquieu, pushed for a government that both upheld individual liberties and ensured order. Republican government was the chosen political system, which was to derive its powers from the people, distributed across states with separate powers and a branch-based national structure to avoid the concentration of power seen in monarchies.