So I was wondering, if Bnei Yisrael were supposed to go to the Beit HaMikdash on all of the shalosh regalim, why do we only have a make up for going if people couldn't make it on Pesach? Did they not bring korbanot on the other chagim, so it didn't matter if they couldn't make it on the chag?
You're absolutely right that everyone would come for all of the רגלים and bring a קרבן חגיגה. The best time to bring it was on the first day of יום טוב, but if you missed it you could make it up for the rest of the חג. For שבועות, which is only one day, you had 6 days afterward to make up the קרבן. This is why many of us did not say tachanun for that second week of סיון. As for why there is a special make-up rule for פסח, the simplest answer is that it is a more significant קרבן - it is one of the only two מצות עשה that are punished by כרת (anyone know the other one?).
Recently, when we read about פסח שני in פרשת בהלותך, one of the local parsha sheets had an essay by Rav Ovadia Yosef addressing this very question. He attributed the special rule to the initiative of the people who advocated for the opportunity. Remember, the rule came up in the Torah as the response to individuals who were טמא on פסח and said "למה נגרע" - why should we miss out on this מצוה. Their passion and desire to bring the קרבן פסח triggered the accommodation.
This interpretation raises some technical issues about how the מצוה was given (did Moshe learn it on הר סיני?), I think that the message is valuable. It is important to note, though, that the proper answer to the feeling of למה נגרע was to ask a שאילה, and follow the conclusion.
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