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Shays’s Rebellion

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• Mises Institute - Shays’s Rebellion: The Excuse for a Centralized American State
• Constitutional Rights Foundation - Shays’ Rebellion: A Massachusetts Farmer’s Account
• Florida State College at Jacksonville Pressbooks - U.S. History I: Pre-Colonial to 1865 - Shay’s Rebellion
• Bill of Rights Institute - Shays' Rebellion
• UShistory.org - Shays' Rebellion
• HistoryNet - A Day to Remember: January 25, 1787- Shays’ Rebellion Gets Bloody
• The Washington Library Center for Digital History - Shays' Rebellion
• Digital History - Shays' Rebellion
• Alpha History - Shays' Rebellion
• EH.net - Shays’s Rebellion
• Shays’s Rebellion - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11)
• Shays’s Rebellion - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up)

Shays’s Rebellion , (August 1786–February 1787), uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxes and stringent economic conditions. Armed bands forced the closing of several courts to prevent execution of foreclosures and debt processes. In September 1786 Daniel Shays and other local leaders led several hundred men in forcing the Supreme Court in Springfield to adjourn. Shays led a force of about 1,200 men in an attack (January 1787) on the federal arsenal at Springfield, which was repulsed. Pursued by the militia, on February 4 he was decisively defeated at Petersham and fled to Vermont. As a result of the rebellion , the Massachusetts legislature enacted laws easing the economic condition of debtors. Though small in scale and easily repressed, Shays’s action became, for some, a persuasive argument for a stronger and conservative national government, thereby contributing to the movement for the Constitutional Convention .

Shays’ Rebellion

Written by: bill of rights institute, by the end of this section, you will:.

• Explain how different forms of government developed and changed as a result of the Revolutionary Period

Suggested Sequencing

Use this Narrative with The Articles of Confederation, 1781 Primary Source to highlight the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation.

Independence did not bring economic prosperity to many parts of the United States. Great Britain restricted U.S. trade with the Empire, especially the lucrative trade with the West Indies. As a result, imports of British goods remained strong while the export of American goods to Britain slumped. Continuing inflation made paper money virtually worthless. Meanwhile, taxes rose to pay off Revolutionary War debts and make up for the loss, at the end of the conflict, of foreign loans.

New England, in particular, was suffering an economic depression. Merchants and shopkeepers in eastern Massachusetts demanded the payment of debts from hard-pressed western farmers, many of whom had overextended themselves during the relative prosperity of the war years. Meanwhile, the Massachusetts legislature raised taxes to pay the state’s wartime debt and meet the national Congress’s requisitions of taxes from the states. Farmers were burdened by high taxes and unable to pay their debts, especially mortgages. They were hauled before county courts, often losing their property and going to debtors’ prisons.

In the summer of 1786, farmers in the western counties assembled to petition the Massachusetts legislature for relief. They asked that no taxes be collected for a year, that courts be closed so property could not be confiscated, and that a paper currency be issued to cause inflation, raising the price of farmers’ goods. Citizens from whom these farmers had borrowed money insisted, however, that contracts be honored. Critics called the farmers traitors and agents of the British, even though many were veterans of the Revolution. Some lenders, eager for the money farmers had promised to repay, insisted that debtors should be more industrious and live more frugally. Neither side provided an easy way to resolve the crisis.

Leaders of the farmers’ movement called on the people to be Minutemen, ready at a moment’s notice to defend their liberty as they had during the war. They met in taverns, churches, and town meetings to plot their strategy. Beginning in late August, they armed themselves and converged on county courts, hoping to close them. They reasoned that if the courts could not meet, they could not lose their property.

At the end of August, fifteen hundred angry farmers took up arms and seized the Northampton courthouse. On September 5, the judges tried to convene their court in Worcester, but three hundred bayonet-wielding farmers blocked their access. Over the next month, the rebels shut down courts in Worcester, Middlesex, Plymouth, and Berkshire Counties. In late September, a crowd of fifteen hundred led by Revolutionary War captain Daniel Shays prevented the Massachusetts Supreme Court from meeting in Springfield. Where authorities called out the militia, its members were locals who either refused to muster against their neighbors and kinfolk or who joined them.

This woodcut, from Bickerstaff’s Boston Almanack of 1787, depicts Daniel Shays, one of the leaders of the rebels who rose up against the Massachusetts government during 1786 to 1787. As a Revolutionary War veteran, Shays wears the uniform of officers of the Continental Army.

Secretary of War Henry Knox asked Congress to send troops to quell the rebellion and protect the federal armory at Springfield, which stored seven thousand guns, bayonets, artillery, and gunpowder. Congress agreed, but little money and few recruits were forthcoming from the states. In October, Governor James Bowdoin called the Massachusetts legislature into session and warned that “wicked and artful men” were conspiring to “destroy all confidence in government.” The legislature provided some relief by suspending debt payments and property foreclosures for several months. However, it also passed several measures to deal with the crisis. The Militia Act made it punishable by court martial to join “any mutiny or sedition.” The Riot Act prohibited twelve or more armed persons from assembling and empowered sheriffs to beat, jail, and kill rioters and take their land. Finally, the ancient liberty of the writ of habeas corpus was suspended, authorizing the roundup and detention without bail of suspected traitors. The legislature offered a pardon to any insurgent who swore allegiance to the government.

Most courts closed or recessed in October; the farmers went home to harvest their crops. Another round of troubles occurred in November and December, however, when courts in Worcester and Springfield were forcibly closed. The farmers continued their appeal to Revolutionary principles and protested the suspension of habeas corpus.

In early January 1787, Governor Bowdoin authorized a force of more than four thousand men to be paid through privately raised funds. An army of nearly two thousand was eventually placed under a Revolutionary War general, Benjamin Lincoln, to secure “system and order” in the western Massachusetts countryside. Lincoln marched to Worcester to defend the courthouse, while a force of some twelve hundred local militia occupied the Springfield Armory to deny it to the rebels.

For their assault on the armory, Shays and other insurgent leaders called on the farmers to “immediately assemble in arms to support and maintain not only their rights, but the lives and liberties of the people.” Guided by the Revolutionary principle that they had the right to overthrow and replace a distant and unresponsive regime, the insurgents announced their intention to smash the “tyrannical government in Massachusetts.” They controlled all the roads to Springfield, seized supplies going to the militia, and sent threatening ultimatums to the militia commander. Of course, Shays’ enemies also considered themselves to be Revolutionary War Patriots. Those in government considered their decision to increase taxes a necessary consequence of the need to pay for an expensive war. Others, who had agreed to loan money to the western farmers, viewed the repayment of debts as the upholding of the contracts that guaranteed their property rights.

On January 25, the rebel army of almost two thousand advanced through four-foot snow drifts, urged on by Shays. When they launched a three-pronged assault on the arsenal, the defending artillery, “humanely wishing to frighten them to lay down their arms,” first fired over their heads. Yet the farmers kept coming. The militia fired grapeshot, killing four and wounding dozens. The farmers retreated, and the battle for the arsenal was over. Most of the insurgents dispersed and returned to their farms. Shays and other leaders fled to Vermont and New York to escape prosecution, although thirteen Shaysites were rounded up, tried for treason, and sentenced to death. The governor pardoned them. Daniel Shays eventually received a pardon as well.

Shays’ Rebellion greatly influenced many to support revising the Articles of Confederation to strengthen the national government. Governments not strong enough to maintain order were too weak to protect liberty. James Madison thought the insurrection gave “new proofs of the necessity of such a vigor in the general government as will be able to restore health to the diseased part of the Federal body.”

Review Questions

1. Why did farmers in western Massachusetts begin to take up arms and march on courthouses in 1786?

• The Townshend Acts severely taxed the colonists, and farmers in western Massachusetts were unable to pay the tax, leading to the loss of their farmland.
• The Massachusetts government, under the Articles of Confederation, faced tariffs from other states, causing the farmers to sink into drastic debt.
• Massachusetts courts denied a farmer named Shays a fair trial for debt collection, which angered farming communities on the principle of due process.
• To repay state war debts and meet congressional requisitions for taxes, merchants in eastern Massachusetts began to request the payment of debts, prompting the courts to take farmers’ land as payment.

2. Which of the following best describes the result of Shays’ Rebellion?

• Debts of the farmers were forgiven because merchants and governors realized the state economy would ultimately benefit from farmers’ success.
• Many farmers returned home to their farms, although some fled across state lines.
• The rebel farmers were tried and persecuted for their treasonous crimes in the very courthouses they had marched upon.
• The Massachusetts government, realizing the need for a strong central government, invited the other states to a convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.

3. How was the perspective of Shays’ followers different from that of the Massachusetts government?

• Whereas Shays’ followers felt they were being patriotic in protesting a perceived unjust law, the government thought it was enforcing the rule of law by upholding what the duly elected legislative body had voted on.
• Shays’ followers wanted to overthrow the Massachusetts government, whereas the state governing body felt capable of fending off the rebellion on its own.
• Shays’ followers wanted to ally themselves with anti-government forces to protest taxes, whereas the state continued to push for a strong central government.
• Even though Shays’ followers were mostly urban dwellers, they were up against the state government, run primarily by planters from large farms.

4. How did Shays’ Rebellion catalyze discussion about the national government?

• The success of Shays’ Rebellion made legislators wary of passing state taxes; instead, they began to institute a policy of national taxes through the Articles of Confederation.
• It highlighted the weakness of the states and the national government, because the states could not control a rebellion and the national government lacked the money to support them in a time of crisis.
• The dynamic between eastern establishments and frontier farmers was a common thread during this time, and no change was discussed.
• French supporters of the Revolution saw a patriot in Daniel Shays and began to support his rebellion against state governments by sending aid and troops.

5. Which of the following best explains the economic situation in post-Revolutionary War America?

• France continued to support the new nation with loans for small businesses so they could compete with Great Britain.
• After its defeat of Great Britain, countries from all over the world were interested in trading with America, which brought in large profits that supported the states.
• The national government continued to use the paper currency from the war because it was such a stable form of payment.
• All the states were burdened with debts, and as they struggled to pay them, inflation hindered the overall economy.

6. Why wasn’t the federal government able to support Massachusetts in putting down Shays’ Rebellion?

• The federal government lacked the funds to gather and send troops to New England.
• The Articles of Confederation explicitly stated a national militia was forbidden.
• Shays’ supporters infiltrated the federal legislative branch and thwarted attempts to put down the rebellion.
• Washington’s Continental Army was accepting the surrender of the British and couldn’t risk splitting troops.

Free Response Questions

• What was the impact of Shays’ Rebellion on the state of Massachusetts?
• Explain how the rebels’ understanding of their rights and individual liberty affected their decision to protest.

AP Practice Questions

Reactions to Shays’ Rebellion

“What, gracious God, is man! That there should be such inconsistency & perfidiousness in his conduct? It is but the other day we were shedding our blood to obtain the Constitutions under which we now live – Constitutions of our own choice and framing – and now we are unsheathing the Sword to overturn them! The thing is so unaccountable, that I hardly know how to realize it, or to persuade myself that I am not under the vision of a dream.”

George Washington to David Humphreys, December 26, 1786

“No Morn ever dawned more favourable than ours did – and no day was ever more clouded than the present! Wisdom, & good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political machine from the impending storm. . . . Without some alteration in our political creed, the superstructure we have been seven years raising at the expence of much blood and treasure, must fall. We are fast verging to anarchy & confusion!”

George Washington to James Madison, November 5, 1786

1. Which of the following best describes the influence of Shays’ Rebellion on the mindset of many U.S. political leaders such as George Washington?

• It demonstrated to them the need for reform in the structure of government under the Articles of Confederation.
• It led many to change their stance on the U.S. Constitution from federalism to anti-federalism.
• It caused some to favor a strong executive over a strong legislature.
• It demonstrated that citizens were not prepared to vote for their leaders.

2. Which of the following best explains why Shays’ Rebellion garnered national attention?

• It involved a large portion of the population on both sides of the conflict.
• It was the first significant instance of resistance to the new American republic.
• It was the first test of the new Constitution, which led many to question its strength.
• It portrayed the tyranny and domination of the federal government under the Articles of Confederation.

3. What did Washington mean by “the superstructure we have been seven years raising at the expence of much blood and treasure”?

• He was angry about the political machine that had taken over and corrupted the government of the United States just seven years after the Revolutionary War ended.
• The endangered superstructure to which Washington referred in this passage was the new republic under the Articles of Confederation.
• Washington warned that the only safe political creed existing by 1786 was the form of government existing under the Articles of Confederation,
• Washington was pleased and hopeful about the “favorable morn” dawning in 1786, because the authors of the Articles of Confederation had set such a good example of wisdom and leadership.

“The moment is, indeed, important! If government shrinks [backs away], or is unable to enforce [carry out] its laws; fresh manoeuvres [movements] will be displayed by the insurgents [protestors] – anarchy [lawlessness] & confusion must prevail [win out] – and every thing will be turned topsy turvey in that State; where it is not probable [likely] the mischiefs [troubles] will terminate [end]. . . . If three years ago, any person had told me that at this day, I should see such a formidable [dreadful] rebellion against the laws & constitutions of our own making as now appears I should have thought him a bedlamite – a fit subject for a mad house.”

George Washington to Henry Knox, February 3, 1787

4. The excerpt provided was most likely written in response to which of the following?

• “Shot heard round the world” at Lexington and Concord
• Surrender of Cornwallis’s army at Yorktown
• Decapitation of Marie Antoinette in Paris
• Shays’ Rebellion in Massachusetts

5. The excerpt provided most directly reflected a growing belief that

• the Continental Congress needed to step down from leading the country
• because of the weakness of the central government, American Indians would gain strength and return to reclaim their land
• the Articles of Confederation required some reform
• the Constitution was lacking a bill of Rights

“II. Each state retains its sovereignty, freedom, and independence, and every power, jurisdiction, and right, which is not by this Confederation expressly delegated to the United States, in Congress assembled. III. The said States hereby severally enter into a firm league of friendship with each other, for their common defense, the security of their liberties, and their mutual and general welfare, binding themselves to assist each other, against all force offered to, or attacks made upon them, or any of them, on account of religion, sovereignty, trade, or any other pretense whatever.”

Articles of Confederation, 1781

6. Which of the following was the main intent of the second article of the Articles of Confederation?

• Prevent a tyrannical leader from usurping power, like the king of England did
• Create a powerful national government with the power to defend its borders
• Articulate a Bill of Rights that would protect each citizen from oppression
• Establish a flexible government that could share power between state and federal levels

7. Which of the following best describes the impact on Shays’ Rebellion of the central government under the Articles of Confederation?

• The national government lacked the power by which it could bring order to the troubled states.
• The league of friendship created an interstate alliance that required nearby New England militias to support Massachusetts.
• Excessive tax collection by the federal government brought an influx of funds, allowing the state to lower its tax rates.
• The farmers’ liberties were secured by the Articles because they were protected by freedom of speech, petition, and assembly.

Primary Sources

Jefferson, Thomas. “Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 30 January 1787.” Founders Online , National Archives and Records Administration. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/01-11-02-0095

Madison, James. “James Madison to Edmund Pendleton. 24 February 1787.” Founders Online , National Archives and Records Administration. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-09-02-0151

Washington, George. “George Washington to David Humphreys, 26 Dec. 1786.” The Washington Papers. http://gwpapers.virginia.edu/documents/george-washington-to-david-humphreys-26-dec-1786/

Washington, George. “George Washington to James Madison, 5 November 1786.” Founders Online , National Archives and Records Administration. https://founders.archives.gov/documents/Madison/01-09-02-0070

Suggested Resources

Condon, Sean. Shays’s Rebellion: Authority and Distress in Post-Revolutionary America . Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2015.

Richard, Leonard L. Shays’ Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.

Szatmary, David P. Shays’ Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection . Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press, 1980.

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Shays' Rebellion

Following the Revolutionary War, merchants in Europe and America felt a need to rein in the enormous debts they were owed, refusing further loans while also demanding payment in cash for any future goods and services. This demand for hard-currency caused a chain reaction, eventually placing the average American borrower under unrealistic schedules of payment given the small amount of cash in circulation. As rural farmers began to lose land and property to debt collectors, hostile sentiments boiled over, especially among those owed payment for military service. In September 1786, Henry Lee wrote to Washington that the restlessness was "not confined to one state or to one part of a state," but rather affected "the whole." 1 Washington wrote to friends such as David Humphreys and Henry Knox , conveying his alarm at the turn of events in the states, and in response received reports that confirmed his fears.

Protests in western Massachusetts grew more tumultuous in August 1786 after the convening of the state legislature failed to address any of the numerous petitions it had received concerning debt relief. Daniel Shays quickly rose among the ranks of the dissidents, having participated in the protest at Northampton courthouse in late August. Shays' followers called themselves "Regulators," in reference to a reform movement in North Carolina that occurred two decades earlier. After the state legislature failed to address the group’s petitions, Shays led organized protests at county court hearings, effectively blocking the work of debt collectors. In response to the growing crisis, Washington wrote desperately to Humphreys, worried that "commotions of this sort, like snow-balls, gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the way to divide and crumble them." 2

By December 1786, the conflict between eastern Massachusetts creditors and western rural farmers escalated. Massachusetts Governor James Bowdoin mobilized a force of 1,200 militiamen to counter Shays. The army was led by former Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln and funded by private merchants. Lincoln's forces anticipated that the Regulators would storm the federal armory at Springfield, Massachusetts, and were waiting when Shays approached the armory with approximately 1,500 men on January 25, 1787. The army fired warning shots followed by artillery fire, killing four of the insurgents and wounding twenty. The rebel force quickly faltered and scattered into the countryside. Many participants were later captured and most men, including Shays, eventually received amnesty as part of a general pardon.

In February 1787, once Shays' Rebellion had been quelled, Knox reported to Washington on Lincoln’s successful operations. Washington replied to Knox that "On the prospect of the happy termination of this insurrection I sincerely congratulate you; hoping that good may result from the cloud of evils which threatened, not only the hemisphere of Massachusetts but by spreading its baneful influence, the tranquility of the Union." 3 The rebellion called into serious question the state of the country's finances and the viability of the weak national government under the Articles of Confederation. Shays' Rebellion accelerated calls to reform the Articles, eventually resulting in the Philadelphia Convention of 1787 . The Convention elected Washington as its president and ultimately produced the Constitution of the United States. Thus, in no small way, Shays' Rebellion contributed to Washington’s return to public life and the creation of a strong federal government more capable of addressing the pressing economic and political needs of a new nation.

Rahul Tilva George Washington University

Notes: 1. " Henry Lee to George Washington, 8 September 1786 ," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition, ed. Theodore J. Crackel (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, Rotunda, 2008).

2. " George Washington to David Humphreys, 22 October 1786 ," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition.

3. " George Washington to Henry Knox, 25 February 1787 ," The Papers of George Washington Digital Edition.

Bibliography: Maier, Pauline. Ratification: The People Debate the Constitution, 1787-1788. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2010.

Szatmary, David P. Shays' Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection. Amherst University of Massachusetts Press, 1980.

Richards, Leonard. Shays' Rebellion: The American Revolution's Final Battle. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.

Shays' Rebellion — The Last Battle of the American Revolution

Shays' Rebellion was an insurrection in Massachusetts that showed the weakness of the national government under the Articles of Confederation and helped lead to the Constitutional Convention of 1787.

This woodcut from 1787 depicts Daniel Shays (left) and Job Shattuck, two of the leaders of the Shaysites. Image Source: Wikipedia.

Shays’ Rebellion Summary

Shays’ Rebellion was an armed insurrection by people living in western Massachusetts in 1786 and early 1787 against the Massachusetts government. The insurrection was led by Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran. Shays and the insurgents, mostly poor farmers, were protesting crippling economic policies that caused many farm foreclosures and the imprisonment of debtors. Shays’ followers, who called themselves Regulators, marched on several Massachusetts courthouses in 1786 to halt foreclosure proceedings and the imprisonment of debtors. Shays’ Rebellion reached its climax on January 25, 1787, when the Massachusetts militia defeated Shays and his followers as they attempted to capture a federal arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts. The insurgency ended for the most part on February 3, 1787, when the remainder of Shays’ followers were surprised by militia forces and took advantage of an offer of a general amnesty.

Significance of Shays’ Rebellion

Shays’ Rebellion was important, even though it failed because it underscored the position of those who argued that the federal government established by the Articles of Confederation was weak and ineffective, and prompted support for the Constitutional Convention .

Shays’ Rebellion Facts — Details, Dates, and Statistics

Shays’ Rebellion started in 1786 as an insurrection of farmers in western Massachusetts against the state government.

The leader was Daniel Shays, a Revolutionary War veteran.

Shays’ followers called themselves Shaysites and Regulators.

Shays and his followers were protesting property taxes that led to:

• The imprisonment of debtors.
• A wave of farm foreclosures.
• Poll taxes which prevented poorer citizens from voting.
• Unjust procedures of the Court of Common Pleas.
• Costly lawsuits.
• The refusal of the government to issue paper money to relieve economic hardships.
• An unstable monetary system made day-to-day life more difficult for many than it had been before independence.

Regulators acted to address their grievances by storming courthouses to halt the imprisonment of debtors.

Massachusetts’s Governor, James Bowdoin, quickly raised an army by private subscription of 4,400 militiamen under General Benjamin Lincoln to restore the courts and protect the state.

The Rebellion reached its climax on January 25, 1787, when the militia intercepted and defeated Shays and nearly 1,500 Regulators as they attempted to seize the federal arsenal in Springfield.

With the exception of a few small skirmishes, the Rebellion ended when the remainder of Shays’ followers were surprised and captured by the militia in Petersham, Massachusetts on February 3, 1787.

Most of the insurgents later took advantage of a general amnesty and surrendered.

Shays and a few other leaders escaped north to Vermont.

The Supreme Judicial Court sentenced fourteen of the rebellion’s leaders, including Shays, to death for treason. However, they were later pardoned by the newly-elected Governor John Hancock .

Only two men, John Bly and Charles Rose of Berkshire County were hung (for banditry).

Shays was condemned to death on a charge of treason He petitioned for amnesty in February 1788, and was pardoned by John Hancock on June 13.

Shays moved to New York where he died, impoverished, on September 29, 1825.

Shays’ Rebellion is sometimes referred to as the “Last Battle of the American Revolution.”

The Rebellion reinforced the position of those who argued that the federal government established by the Articles of Confederation was weak and ineffective.

• Content for this article has been compiled and edited by American History Central Staff .

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How Shays’ Rebellion Changed America

By: Christopher Klein

Updated: October 19, 2018 | Original: August 26, 2016

This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. This wasn’t the future they envisioned when they cast off the British.

Five years after Yorktown, the promise of the American Revolution had been unfulfilled for thousands of farmers in western and central Massachusetts, many of whom had risked their lives serving in the state militia and Continental Army. They had received little pay or reimbursement for their military service, and now with the fledgling country mired in a severe economic recession, debt collectors began to seize their farms and possessions for unpaid debts and delinquent taxes. Men who fought for their freedom now languished behind bars in debtor prisons.

Similar discontent smoldered from New Hampshire to South Carolina, but it raged in Massachusetts where the state government in Boston refused to hear the cries for relief coming from points west. The legislature not only rejected a measure to print more money, it imposed new taxes on people and property in early 1786. Although there was a severe cash shortage, state courts strictly enforced obligations to repay debts with paper money.

Feeling aggrieved by their government, the Massachusetts farmers relied on a tactic that they had successfully employed against their British rulers in 1774. On August 29, 1786, more than 500 protestors, many of them Revolutionary War veterans accompanied by a fife-and-drum soundtrack, marched in military formation to the county court in Northampton. The farmers shut down the business of the court and prevented it from approving any further property seizures, debt collections and foreclosures.

Throughout the fall, the protest spread across the Massachusetts countryside as the disgruntled citizens—who called themselves “Regulators” because they were attempting to regulate the function of government—shut down the courts in Great Barrington, Springfield, Worcester, Taunton and even Concord, where some of the first shots of the American Revolution had been fired. Not only did local militias fail to defend the courts, some of their members even joined the insurrection. Many Massachusetts courts were forced to shutter for the remainder of their term in 1786.

The uprising rattled some of America’s foremost leaders, including George Washington. “For God’s sake tell me, what is the cause of all these commotions? Do they proceed from licentiousness, British influence disseminated by the Tories, or real grievances which admit of redress?” he asked former aide David Humphreys in an October 1786 letter. “Commotions of this sort, like snow-balls, gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the way to divide & crumble them,” he warned.

The movement did indeed snowball as the snow began to fall from the skies in January 1787. Massachusetts Governor James Bowdoin decided action was needed to quell the insurrection. Bypassing his militia, Bowdoin raised private funds from Boston merchants to pay for a 1,200-man army that marched west under the command of former Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln.

With Lincoln’s men on the move, the outgunned rebels attempted to capture the federal weapons armory in Springfield with a force of 1,500 rebels under the direction of Daniel Shays—a former captain in the Continental Army who fought at Bunker Hill, Saratoga and Ticonderoga. Although the authorities had begun to refer to the uprising as “Shays’ Rebellion,” the moniker vastly overstated the leadership role of the Massachusetts farmer, who was actually an “unassuming character,” according to author Ray Raphael in “Founding Myths: Stories That Hide Our Patriotic Past.” “He in no way owned or even led the movement—in fact, he was not even active during the early stages of the uprising,” Raphael writes.

Shays was, however, one of the leaders of the force that marched on the Springfield armory through four feet of snow and bitterly cold temperatures on January 25, 1787. There the Regulators were met by a state militia force of 1,200 men guarding its gates. Men who fought side-by-side against the British just years earlier now confronted each other at gunpoint. When the rebels ignored two warning shots, the militia opened fire. Grapeshot and cannonballs tore through the front line of the Regulators, leaving 4 dead and 20 wounded. The band of farmers, some of whom were carrying only sticks, fled immediately.

A week later on February 4, Lincoln’s men ambushed Shays and his men at a camp in Petersham and crushed the main rebellion. Insurgent leaders including Shays fled north to Vermont, still an independent republic at the time. The legislature pardoned thousands of rank-and-file Regulators as long as they paid a fine, surrendered their weapons and took an oath of loyalty to the states. Two rebel leaders were hanged for treason, but Shays came out of hiding in Vermont after his eventual pardon in 1788.

Perhaps judging the government’s actions too harsh, Massachusetts’ voters tossed Bowdoin out of the governor’s office in the spring of 1787. Lincoln lost his race for lieutenant governor. The newly elected legislature cut taxes and placed a moratorium on debts, helping to alleviate the economic crisis.

Among those relieved at the quelling of Shays’ Rebellion was Washington. “On the prospect of the happy termination of this insurrection I sincerely congratulate you,” he wrote to Secretary of War Henry Knox on February 25, 1787, “hoping that good may result from the cloud of evils which threatened, not only the hemisphere of Massachusetts but by spreading its baneful influence, the tranquility of the Union.”

Shays’ Rebellion further underlined to Washington and other American leaders the weakness of the Articles of Confederation. Although plans for a Constitutional Convention were already under way, the uprising in Massachusetts led to further calls for a stronger national government and influenced the ensuing debate in Philadelphia that led to the drafting of the U.S. Constitution in the summer of 1787.

According to Edward J. Larson, author of “The Return of George Washington,” the rebellion “haunted Washington” and was “perhaps an essential, final straw” in pulling him out of retirement to serve as president of the Constitutional Convention. “Regardless of their cause, the commotions sufficiently shocked Washington to set him on the road to Philadelphia,” Larson writes.

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Shays' Rebellion

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Shays' Rebellion (1786-87) was an armed insurrection by rural farmers in western and central Massachusetts, sparked by the state government's unpopular response to a debt crisis. The insurrection reached its climax when the rebels, referred to by some scholars as 'Shaysites', unsuccessfully assaulted a federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, ultimately leading to the rebellion's dissolution.

The rebellion erupted amidst an economic crisis and was largely the result of a feud between New England rural farmers and the coastal mercantile elite; when the farmers proved unable to pay debts owed to New English retailers and merchants, their creditors took harsh legal action, often resulting in the farmers losing their property or being thrown into debtors' jail. The farmers believed these judicial actions to be unjust and, in autumn 1786, surrounded courthouses in several Massachusetts towns to halt court proceedings. When the Massachusetts government responded by implementing a severe Riot Act and raising a private army, the protestors turned violent. Under the leadership of American Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays (the namesake of the rebellion) and others, the rebels surrounded Springfield Armory, with the intention of using the weapons within to launch an assault on Boston.

The Shaysites, however, were repulsed when they assaulted the armory on 25 January 1787. The rebels were then mopped up by the private army under General Benjamin Lincoln and the insurrection fizzled out shortly thereafter. Shays' Rebellion highlighted the inefficiency of the United States central government which, under the Articles of Confederation , had been powerless to send federal troops or otherwise intercede to stop the insurrection. The rebellion led many Americans to realize that a stronger central government was necessary, and it influenced the drafting and ratification of the US Constitution.

Debt Crisis

As noted by historian David P. Szatmary, the New England of the 18th century was a society in which aspects of 'rural tradition' and 'commercial expansion' coexisted and gradually came into conflict with one another (1). The vast majority of New Englanders existed within the former category as yeomen farmers or agricultural laborers, who lived in rural communities and often owned the land on which they worked. These farmers enjoyed a subsistence lifestyle, living off their own produce. Whenever they needed something from the market – shoes, for instance, or medicine – they would usually pay with surplus crops rather than in hard currency, which was scarce. If it had been a rough harvest season and the farmers did not have any surplus crops, retailers would often extend to them a line of credit, trusting the farmers to pay them back the next harvest season.

Simultaneously, a growing commercial economy was thriving in the coastal towns of Massachusetts and in the Connecticut River Valley, which relied on trade conducted by merchants. This mercantile class dominated politics in New England and was, therefore, a powerful interest group; indeed, it was partially the grievances of these merchants that had set the New England colonies on the path toward the American Revolution . These merchants had built their fortunes off trade with business contacts in Great Britain and the West Indies, exporting commodities such as timber and rum in exchange for various goods which would then be sold to the shopkeepers in New England's various market towns for resale. Like the yeomen farmers, the merchants did not have much hard currency on hand and were used to conducting business through lines of credit extended to them by their overseas business partners.

At the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783, the New England merchants were eager to resume trade with their prewar business contacts in Britain and France. There was, however, a problem; the United States was experiencing a postwar economic depression and lacked a reliable national currency, making British merchants wary of extending new lines of credit to their New English counterparts. British merchants insisted that any future business dealings must be conducted entirely in hard currency and that all past debts must be immediately paid before commerce could resume. The New English merchants were taken aback by these demands but had no choice but to comply, since Britain was one of their only feasible overseas markets.

The merchants of New England did not have the hard currency that their overseas contacts were demanding; in 1786, for instance, Boston merchants collectively owed £80,000 in debt but had less than £25,000 in hard currency between them. To collect the coinage needed to reopen trade, the merchants decided to call in the debts owed to them by the storeowners of New England's rural market towns. But, of course, the storeowners were as cash-poor as the merchants and were forced to demand that their own customers, mostly yeomen farmers, pay up as well. The burden of the credit crisis, therefore, fell squarely on the shoulders of the farmers, who were at the bottom of this debt hierarchy and could not pass the buck downward. When the farmers tried to pay their debts with surplus crops, they were dismayed to learn that only hard currency would be accepted. This came at a time when the New England state governments were already levying high taxes to pay off their own war debts, imposing an extra financial strain on the rural population.

Growing Unrest

When the farmers proved unable to meet the harsh financial demands imposed on them by the mercantile class and government officials, their creditors resorted to legal action. Between 1784 and 1786, 2,977 debt cases were prosecuted by Hampshire County, Massachusetts, a 262% increase from the 1770-72 period. Worcester County, Massachusetts, saw 4,789 debt cases in the 1784-86 period, compared to only 1,200 between 1770 and 1772 (Szatmary, 29). Most of the defendants in these cases were poor rural farmers. By 1786, the practice had become so widespread that Governor Thomas Chittenden of Vermont observed, "lawsuits have become so numerous that there is hardly any money sufficient to pay for entering the actions, not to mention the debts" (Szatmary, 30).

Farmers who lost these lawsuits were often liable to have their properties seized by county sheriffs and auctioned off. Since few potential buyers had much hard currency, the properties were usually sold at a fraction of their market value. These property seizures outraged and terrified the farmers, who feared that the loss of their lands would reduce them to the state of tenant farmers, beholden to landlords like feudal peasants . "To see a collector distrain upon one of their neighbors," wrote a contributor to the Independent Chronicle , "and carry off a hog, or his colt, for the payment of his taxes, this startles them exceedingly" (Szatmary, 33).

Those who still could not pay off their debts after having their property foreclosed faced the dreadful possibility of debtors' prison. At the time, New England jails were unsanitary and cramped, and inmates often went without adequate food; in Hampshire County, 73 people owing small amounts of debt were condemned to debtor's jail between 1784 and 1786, while Worcester County sentenced 145 during the same period for failure to pay their debts (Szatmary, 35).

Petitions & Protests

The prospect that rural farmers could be jailed and have their properties seized because they defaulted on debts that they could ill afford struck many New Englanders as contrary to the principles of the Revolution; after all, unjust taxes and fear of arbitrary imprisonment had been two of the leading factors that drove the United States to declare independence in the first place. In the mid-1780s, as the debt crisis unfolded, 73 towns from across Massachusetts sent petitions to Boston, asking for two pieces of protective legislation: the first was the establishment of state-issued paper money, which would depreciate the currency but would allow the farmers to pay their debts more easily. The second request was for tender laws, which would guarantee the right to pay for goods and services in kind as well as in cash.

Both proposals threatened the economic growth of the coastal merchants, who pressured the Massachusetts General Court to reject them; in November 1785, the General Court voted against both measures by wide margins but did not offer any alternative solutions to the farmers' financial strife. With no other options, many yeomen farmers began to arm themselves; George Brock, a farmer from Attleboro, Massachusetts, vented the frustrations of his peers, writing that the Massachusetts General Court was treating the yeomen as "traitors, incendiaries, vile creatures" who were being threatened with prosecution for "daring to inquire into the present gross mismanagement of our rulers" (Szatmary, 57). If the situation did not soon improve, Brock suggested that the yeomanry should revolt against "all the machinations of those who are aiming to enslave and oppress us" ( ibid ). Sensing the upheaval that was to come, Massachusetts Governor John Hancock resigned in early 1785, leaving his successor James Bowdoin to deal with the mess.

On 29 August 1786, the insurrection known as Shays' Rebellion began when 1,500 people surrounded the Court of Common Pleas in Northampton, Massachusetts, thereby halting court proceedings. Referring to themselves as 'Regulators', after the similar Regulator Movement that erupted in North Carolina two decades earlier, the protestors demanded a stop to the oppressive judicial processes that were depriving them of their properties and liberties. On 5 September, 300 Regulators surrounded the debtors' court in Worcester, Massachusetts. Governor Bowdoin called on the Worcester County militia to disperse them, but the militiamen, many of whom were yeoman farmers themselves, refused to turn out. In the ensuing weeks, crowds of Regulators successfully shut down court proceedings in the Massachusetts towns of Great Barrington, Concord, and Taunton.

Government Response

At the end of October 1786, the Regulator protests died down; most courts had adjourned for the season, and the farmers who constituted the Regulator mobs had to return home to harvest their corn. During the lull, New England's merchant elite and government officials frantically tried to come up with a response to the protests; though none of the protestors had yet resorted to violence, the merchants labeled their movement as an insurrection, claiming that the Regulators wished to overthrow the Massachusetts government, implement agrarian laws, and institute a state of anarchy. This was a wild misunderstanding of the protestors' true grievances, but the Massachusetts elite were unwilling to compromise in the face of discontent. "Every man ought to show his true colors and take a side," announced Governor Bowdoin. "No neutral characters should be allowed" (Szatmary, 70).

One of the most outspoken opponents of the protests was Samuel Adams . Though he had been at the forefront of the Patriot uprising during the American Revolution, Adams now claimed that anyone who rebelled against a legitimate republic should be sentenced to death . In late 1786, he helped author the Riot Act, which suspended habeas corpus for Regulators who had been arrested, allowing them to be jailed indefinitely, and allowed for county sheriffs to use lethal force against the mobs. At the same time, Governor Bowdoin looked to find ways to crush the uprising with military force. He first appealed to the federal government, only to find that Congress would be unable to supply soldiers; under the Articles of Confederation, the federal government had no standing army, and Congress lacked the funds and ability to recruit new troops. Instead, Bowdoin and 125 merchants pooled their funds to hire a private army of 3,000 soldiers. Placed under the command of Benjamin Lincoln, a former general of the Continental Army, this private army mainly consisted of young men from the coastal towns and urban centers, which relied on the affluence of the merchants.

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On 28 November 1786, the New England elite was ready to retaliate. A group of 300 riders, led by sons of prominent merchants, rode into Groton, Massachusetts to arrest several Regulator ringleaders. One ringleader, Job Shattuck, was wounded with a saber when he resisted arrest and was hauled off to a Boston prison. Then, on 4 January 1787, General Lincoln's private army marched to Worcester, to guard the courthouse as it reopened for the season. These actions only fanned the flames; as news of the government response spread from town to town, the farmers became further radicalized. "I am determined," one man proclaimed, "to fight and spill my blood and leave my bones at the courthouse 'til Resurrection" (Szatmary, 92). The Regulator movement was no longer about reform; now, the rebels would accept nothing less than the overthrow of the Massachusetts government.

In early January 1787, the rebels divided western and central Massachusetts into four regimental zones, each with a governing committee. The plan was to capture the Springfield Armory, a federal arsenal where 7,000 muskets and bayonets, as well as 1,300 barrels of powder were kept; after arming themselves, the rebels then planned to march on Boston, where they hoped to "destroy the nest of devils who by their influence make the courts enact what they please" (Szatmary, 100). The assault was organized by several leaders, among them Luke Day and Daniel Shays, the latter of whom would become the namesake of the rebellion; both Day and Shays, as well as many of the other rebels, were veterans of the Continental Army and had combat experience.

On 23 January 1787, upwards of 4,000 rebels converged on the Springfield Armory from three directions and laid siege; the armory was defended by militia General William Shepard and 1,300 militiamen. The rebels had initially planned to assault the armory on 25 January, but, at the last moment, Day sent a message to Shays asking to postpone the assault for one day. Day's letter was intercepted by Shepard's forces, however, and Shays never got the message. On 25 January, Shays launched the assault with two-thirds of the rebel force but was unsupported by Day's men. They were greeted by Shepard's militia; after firing warning shots over the heads of the Shaysites, Shepard then ordered two cannons to fire grapeshot into the oncoming crowd. The roar of the cannons quickly dispersed the rebels, leaving four dead and 20 wounded.

After the failure of the assault on Springfield Armory, the rebels fled north, eventually establishing a camp at Petersham, Massachusetts. General Lincoln, upon learning about the assault, immediately marched his army west from Worcester; early in the morning of 4 February, Lincoln's army surprised the Shaysite camp during a snowstorm, sending the rebels fleeing into the countryside, with much of the leadership, including Shays himself, seeking asylum in Vermont or New York State. Satisfied, Lincoln disbanded his army at the end of February, unaware that one final episode of the rebellion was yet to play out. 120 rebels had regrouped in New York and, on 27 February, crossed the border to assault the market town of Stockbridge, Massachusetts. They attacked the homes of several well-known retailers, taking 20 hostages before moving on toward New Barrington.

News of the attack on Stockbridge quickly spread, causing militia General John Ashley to hastily put together a force of 80 men to go after the rebels. Ashley's force caught up with the Shaysites on the evening of 27 February outside the town of Sheffield; the resultant six-minute skirmish was the bloodiest moment of Shays' Rebellion, leaving 30 rebels dead or wounded, and 3 government soldiers dead and several more wounded. Ashley's men won the skirmish, however, and took the surviving rebels prisoner; with the fight at Sheffield, Shays' Rebellion came to an end.

Aftermath & Effect on the Constitution

Governor Bowdoin received the lion's share of the blame for the rebellion; in 1787, he lost re-election to John Hancock, who had prudently avoided any association with the uprising. Hoping to put the matter behind them, Hancock offered a general amnesty to all rebels, provided they admit their complicity in the rebellion. Even Shays himself was pardoned in 1788, although he was still vilified as an anarchist in the Boston press, forcing him to move to New York. Two rebels, John Bly and Charles Rose, were hanged on 6 December 1787, but this was only because they had engaged in looting during the rebellion.

Shays' Rebellion had a major effect on the infant United States. Thomas Jefferson, writing from his post as ambassador to France, was unconcerned when news reached him, believing that such upheavals were healthy for the maintenance of liberty: "I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the political world as storms in the physical" (Meacham, 208). Most of Jefferson's colleagues, however, did not share his optimism. Several political leaders were disturbed by the federal government's inability to respond to the rebellion; support for the Federalists, who had been arguing in favor of a more powerful central government, was therefore strengthened in the aftermath of Shays' Rebellion.

Federalist leaders like Alexander Hamilton and James Madison used the rebellion as an example of how the Articles of Confederation, which prevented Congress from levying its own taxes or maintaining its own army, left the United States weak and vulnerable to future insurrections. Another Federalist, John Jay, wrote in 1787 that Shays' Rebellion made "the inefficiency of the Federal government more and more manifest" (Szatmary, 123). With support for Federalism growing, the Constitutional Convention met in Philadelphia from May to September 1787, ultimately producing the US Constitution. Scholars still debate the precise effect that Shays' Rebellion had on the drafting of the Constitution, although it is suspected that fear of another such rebellion swayed several non-committed delegates into the Federalist camp. Therefore, the primary legacy of Shays' Rebellion is that it helped lead to the drafting of the US Constitution and the creation of a stronger federal government.

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Bibliography

• Boatner, Mark M. Cassell's Biographical Dictionary of the American War of Independence. London: Cassell, 1973., 1973.
• Feldman, Noah. The Three Lives of James Madison. Random House, 2017.
• Meacham, Jon. Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power. Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2013.
• Middlekauff, Robert. The Glorious Cause: The American Revolution, 1763-1789. Oxford University Press, 2007.
• Shays' Rebellion · George Washington's Mount Vernon , accessed 25 Jun 2024.
• Szatmary, David P. Shays' Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection. University of Massachusetts Press, 1984.

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Shays' Rebellion of 1786

Taxes in the face of poverty, enter daniel shays, a mood for rebellion grows.

• Shays Attacks the Courts

Attack on the Springfield Armory

The punishment phase, effects of shays’ rebellion.

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Shays’ Rebellion was a series of violent protests staged during 1786 and 1787 by a group of American farmers who objected to the way state and local tax collections were being enforced. While skirmishes broke out from New Hampshire to South Carolina, the most serious acts of the rebellion occurred in rural Massachusetts, where years of poor harvests, depressed commodity prices, and high taxes had left farmers facing the loss of their farms or even imprisonment. The rebellion is named for its leader, Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays of Massachusetts.

Although it never posed a serious threat to the still loosely organized post-war United States federal government , Shays’ Rebellion drew lawmakers’ attention to serious weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and was frequently cited in the debates leading to the framing and ratification of the Constitution .

Key Takeaways: Shay’s Rebellion

• Shays’ Rebellion was a series of armed protests staged in 1786 by farmers in western Massachusetts against repressive debt and property tax collection practices.
• The farmers were aggrieved by excessive Massachusetts property taxes and penalties ranging from the foreclosure of their farms to lengthy prison terms.
• Led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays, the rebels stormed several courthouses in an effort to block tax collections.
• Shays’ Rebellion was put down on January 25, 1787, when a private army raised by Massachusetts’s Governor James Bowdoin intercepted and defeated and arrested Shays and nearly 1,500 of his followers as they attempted to seize the federal arsenal in Springfield, Missouri.
• Shays’ Rebellion underscored weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation and led to the creation of the U.S. Constitution.

The threat posed by Shays’ Rebellion helped persuade retired General George Washington to reenter public service, leading to his two terms as the first President of the United States.

In a letter regarding Shays’ Rebellion to U.S. Representative William Stephens Smith dated November 13, 1787, Founding Father Thomas Jefferson famously argued that an occasional rebellion is an essential part of liberty:

“The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.”

The end of the Revolutionary War found farmers in rural areas of Massachusetts living a sparse subsistence lifestyle with few assets aside from their land. Forced to barter with each other for goods or services, farmers found it difficult and prohibitively expensive to obtain credit. When they did manage to find credit, repayment was required to be in the form of hard currency, which remained in short supply after repeal of the despised British Currency Acts .

Along with insurmountable commercial debt, unusually high tax rates in Massachusetts added to the financial woes of the farmers. Taxed at a rate some four times higher than in neighboring New Hampshire, a typical Massachusetts farmer was required to pay about one-third of their annual income to the state.

Unable to pay either their private debts or their taxes, many farmers faced devastation. State courts would foreclose on their land and other assets, ordering them sold at public auction for a fraction of their real value. Worse yet, farmers who had already lost their land and other assets were often sentenced to spend years in dungeon-like and now illegal debtors’ prisons.

On top of these financial hardships was the fact that many Revolutionary War veterans had received little or no pay during their time in the Continental Army and were facing roadblocks to collecting back pay owed to them by Congress or the states. Some of these soldiers, like Daniel Shays, began to organize protests against what they considered to be excessive taxes and abusive treatment by the courts.

A Massachusetts farmhand when he volunteered for the Continental Army, Shays fought in the Battles of Lexington and Concord , Bunker Hill , and Saratoga . After being wounded in action, Shays resigned—unpaid—from the Army and went home, where he was taken to court for nonpayment of his pre-war debts. Realizing that he was far from alone in his plight, he began to organize his fellow protesters.

With the spirit of revolution still fresh, hardships led to protest. In 1786, aggrieved citizens in four Massachusetts counties held semi-legal conventions to demand, among other reforms, lower taxes and the issuance of paper money. However, the state legislature, having already suspended tax collections for a year, refused to listen and ordered the immediate and full payment of taxes. With this, public resentment of tax collectors and the courts escalated quickly.

On August 29, 1786, a group of protesters succeeded in preventing the county tax court in Northampton from convening.

Shays Attacks the Courts 

Having taken part in the Northampton protest, Daniel Shays quickly gained followers. Calling themselves “Shayites” or “Regulators,” in reference to an earlier tax reform movement in North Carolina, Shays’ group orchestrated protests at more county courthouses, effectively preventing taxes from being collected.

Greatly disturbed by the tax protests, George Washington, in a letter to his close friend David Humphreys, expressed his fear that “commotions of this sort, like snow-balls, gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the way to divide and crumble them.”

By December 1786, the growing conflict between the farmers, their creditors, and state tax collectors drove Massachusetts Governor Bowdoin to mobilize a special army of 1,200 militiamen funded by private merchants and dedicated solely to stopping Shays and his Regulators.

Led by former Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln, Bowdoin’s special army was ready for the pivotal battle of Shays’ Rebellion.

On January 25, 1787, Shays, along with some 1,500 of his Regulators, attacked the federal armory at Springfield, Massachusetts. Though outnumbered, General Lincoln’s well-trained and battle-tested army had anticipated the attack and held a strategic advantage over Shays’ angry mob. After firing a few volleys of musket warning shots, Lincoln’s army leveled artillery fire on the still-advancing mob, killing four of the Regulators and wounding twenty more.

The surviving rebels scattered and fled into the nearby countryside. Many of them were later captured, effectively ending Shays’ Rebellion.

In exchange for immediate amnesty from prosecution, some 4,000 individuals signed confessions acknowledging their participation in the Rebellion.

Several hundred participants were later indicted on a range of charges relating to the rebellion. While most were pardoned, 18 men were sentenced to death. Two of them, John Bly and Charles Rose of Berkshire County, were hanged for thievery on December 6, 1787, while the rest were either pardoned, had their sentences commuted, or had their convictions overturned on appeal.

Shays, who had been hiding in the Vermont forest since fleeing from his failed attack on the Springfield Armory, returned to Massachusetts after being pardoned in 1788. He later settled near Conesus, New York, where he lived below the poverty threshold until his death in 1825.

Though it failed to achieve its goals, Shays’ Rebellion focused attention on serious weaknesses in the Articles of Confederation that prevented the national government from effectively managing the country’s finances.

The obvious need for reforms led to the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the replacement of the Articles of Confederation with the U.S. Constitution and its Bill of Rights .

Governor Bowdoin’s actions in quashing the rebellion, though successful, were widely unpopular and proved to be his political downfall. In the gubernatorial election of 1787, he received few votes from the rural parts of the state and was easily defeated by Founding Father and first signer of the Constitution John Hancock . Additionally, the legacy of Bowdoin’s military victory was tarnished by extensive tax reforms. Over the next several years, the Massachusetts legislature cut property taxes significantly and placed a moratorium on debt collections. 

In addition, his concerns over the rebellion drew George Washington back into public life and helped persuade him to accept the Constitutional Convention’s unanimous nomination to serve as the first President of the United States.

In final analysis, Shays’ Rebellion contributed to the establishment of a stronger federal government.

In 1786, Shays asked Revolutionary War leader Ethan Allen and his Vermont Green Mountain Boys to rekindle the rebellion in western Massachusetts. Allen was reluctant to do so despite Shays' offer to crown him “King of Massachusetts.” Allen felt that Shays was just trying to bribe him to erase his unpayable debts. Allen did, however, quietly shelter several of Shays’ former rebels in Vermont, while publicly disavowing them.

On February 16, 1787, the Boston state legislature passed the Disqualification Act setting forth conditions for granting pardons to the men who participated in Shays' Rebellion as privates or non-commissioned officers. The men were required to turn in their firearms and take an oath of allegiance. The Justice of the Peace was then required to relay the men's names to the clerks of their towns. The men were barred from serving as jurors, members of town or state government, and from working as schoolmasters, innkeepers, and liquor salesmen for three years. They also lost their right to vote in town elections. The men would forfeit their pardons if they did not follow those rules.

Impact on the Constitution

Serving as ambassador to France at the time of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, Thomas Jefferson of Virginia refused to be overly alarmed by Shays’ Rebellion. In a letter to James Madison on January 30, 1787, he argued that occasional rebellion was essential to the preservation of freedom. In a letter to William Stephens Smith on November 13, 1787, Jefferson famously wrote, “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure. … What country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance?”

In contrast to Jefferson, George Washington, who had long been calling for constitutional reform, expressed great concern over such uprisings. “For God’s sake tell me, what is the cause of all these commotions? Do they proceed from licentiousness, British influence disseminated by the Tories, or real grievances which admit of redress?” he asked his former aide David Humphreys in an October 1786 letter. “Commotions of this sort, like snow-balls, gather strength as they roll, if there is no opposition in the way to divide & crumble them,” he warned.

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The Events and Impact of Shays’s Rebellion

Following a brief period of prosperity after the War for Independence a severe economic depression occurred aggravated by a shortage of circulating currency that made it difficult for Americans to pay their taxes and debts. Since colonial times the common means of providing relief in depressions included issuing paper money to be loaned to farmers, making property and agricultural produce legal tender, offering installment payments for taxes, and delaying tax collections. When state legislatures failed to provide such relief in postwar America, sporadic and isolated acts of violence erupted in Vermont, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina.

The most prominent unrest occurred in the western counties of Massachusetts where debtors led by Daniel Shays (among others) shut down the civil courts to stop foreclosures on delinquent properties after the state legislature refused to enact debtor relief. News of the rebellion spread throughout the nation. Henry Lee of Virginia, a member of Congress, expressed alarm: “We are all in dire apprehension that a beginning of anarchy with all its calamitys has approached, and have no means to stop the dreadful work.” Confederation Secretary of War Henry Knox suggested that the rebellion showed the government needed to be “braced, changed, or altered to secure our lives and property.”

Massachusetts quickly suppressed the unrest with a privately-financed army commanded by former Continental Army General Benjamin Lincoln. Shays’s Rebellion and other acts of violence deeply shocked Americans and spread fear the United States was on the verge of anarchy. Motivated by this fear more and more Americans turned to the idea of a stronger central government.

For an extended discussion of this topic, see the Introduction to Agrarian Unrest and the Constitution .

Correspondence with George Washington about the Rebellion

• Editor’s Note on Shays’s Rebellion
• Benjamin Lincoln to George Washington, 4 December 1786
• Henry Knox to George Washington, New York, 17 December 1786
• Henry Knox to George Washington, 21 December 1786
• Benjamin Lincoln to George Washington, 22 February 1787
• Benjamin Lincoln to George Washington, 4 March 1787

Correspondence During the Rebellion

• Governor James Bowdoin Orders to Benjamin Lincoln, Boston, 19 January 1787
• Benjamin Lincoln to Daniel Shays, Hadley, Mass., 30 January 1787
• Daniel Shays to Benjamin Lincoln, Pelham, Mass., 30 January 1787
• Benjamin Lincoln to Governor James Bowdoin, Hadley, Mass., 30 January 1787
• Benjamin Lincoln to the Selectmen and Assemblies of Worcester and Hampshire Counties, Mass., 30 January 1787
• Daniel Shays to Benjamin Lincoln, Pelham, Mass., 31 January 1787
• Benjamin Lincoln to Daniel Shays, Hadley, Mass., 31 January 1787

Public Commentary After the Rebellion

• Albany Gazette , 3 May 1787
• Massachusetts Centinel , 16 May 1787
• Massachusetts Centinel , 19 May 1787
• Litchfield Weekly Monitor , 21 May 1787
• The Anarchiad X, New Haven Gazette and Connecticut Magazine , 24 May 1787
• Worcester Magazine , Fourth Week of May 1787
• Albany Gazette , 21 June 1787
• Richmond Virginia Gazette and Weekly Advertiser , 19 July 1787
• Pennsylvania Gazette , 5 September 1787
• Petersburg Virginia Gazette , 6 September 1787
• Daniel Shays to the Antifederalist Junto in Philadelphia, Philadelphia  Independent Gazetteer , 25 September 1787 
• Philadelphia Freeman’s Journal , 3 October 1787

Shay’s rebellion Essay

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Introduction

In the summer of 1786, citizen’s discontent within Western Massachusetts counties began to manifest itself in the form of organized forces which forcibly disrupted court sessions. These rebellious actions, known as Shay’s Rebellion, were attributed to impoverished Farmers and other rural debtors. However, data suggests that the rebellion was more broad based socioeconomically, driven by citizens rejecting a “tyrannical” and elitist government.

Characteristics of the Shaysites, and why did they took up arms against the Massachusetts government

Shay’s Rebellion was an expression of discontent with state government by various groups of citizens in close knit communities. For example, Daniel Shay who led the largest insurgent regiment was a landowner and prominently served in the American Revolution.

In contrast to historical portrayals of the rebels, there was a low correlation between counties with high number of debtors and concentrations of supporters for the rebellion. The Shaysites were a mixture of farmers, revolutionary war veterans, and prominent townsmen. They lived in tight-knit communities and felt it is their duty to pursue afair form of government.

The 1780 constitution and government did not fairly represent Western Massachusetts. The state government paid out value of the debt in full, mostly to Boston speculators instead of reducing its postwar debt burden following the precedent of other American states. Onerous state taxes to support this debt and a nonresponsive court system exacerbated financial difficulties. Ultimately the failure of the legislature to address citizen’s grievances led to armed rebellion

Shay’s Rebellion supporters sought to ratify a new state constitution that provided a responsive and fair government. Shaysites, in the spirit inspired by the American Revolution, sought to restore government to the people boldly stating their purpose for “suppressing of tyrannical government” (Leonard 63). But, the significance of Shay’s rebellion was not recognized because they were poor servants.

Shay led an unsuccessful armed rebellion against the state of Massachusetts. The reason why they acted in a rebellious manner is because they were treated unfairly especially when paying their taxes. Though they were unsuccessful, their action changed the course of American History. Shay’s Rebellion was the beginning of a great move that would bring freedom to the Americans.

Works Cited

Leonard, Richards . Shays’s Rebellion: The American Revolution’s Final Battle . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2002.

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Home — Essay Samples — History — Articles of Confederation — Shays’ Rebellion And The Articles Of Confederation

Shays' Rebellion and The Articles of Confederation

• Categories: American History Articles of Confederation

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Words: 988 |

Published: May 14, 2021

Words: 988 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

• “Shays' Rebellion.” Ushistory.org, Independence Hall Association, http://www.ushistory.org/us/15a.asp. Accessed 28th, October 2019
• “Shays's Rebellion.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy, https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/us-history/road-to-revolution/creating-a-nation/a/shayss-rebellion.
• “The Shadow of Shays' Rebellion.” Center for the Study of the American Constitution, https://csac.history.wisc.edu/document-collections/confederation-period/shays-rebellion/.
• “On This Day: Shays' Rebellion Was Thwarted.” National Constitution Center – Constitutioncenter.org, https://constitutioncenter.org/blog/on-this-day-shays-rebellion-was-thwarted.
• Shay's Rebellion - Historic Northampton Museum and Education Center, http://www.historic-northampton.org/highlights/shays.html.

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Shays’ Rebellion: Causes and Consequences of the 1786 Uprising

This essay about Shays’ Rebellion explains the complex economic, political, and social factors that led to this pivotal event in 1786 Massachusetts. It details how heavy taxation, economic hardship, and political disenfranchisement among rural farmers, many of whom were war veterans, sparked the uprising. The essay also discusses the leadership of Daniel Shays and the failure of the rebellion, highlighting its significance in exposing the weaknesses of the Articles of Confederation. This spurred discussions at the Constitutional Convention, ultimately leading to the creation of a stronger federal government. The essay concludes by reflecting on the broader implications of the rebellion for understanding the balance between governance and the rights of the governed, underscoring the need for inclusive governance.

How it works

Shays’ Rebellion, which exposed the difficulties and growing pains the fledgling nation had after gaining its independence, is frequently cited as a turning point in American history. This incident, which occurred in western Massachusetts between 1786 and 1787, can be linked to a complicated combination of political disenfranchisement, economic suffering, and unsolved grievances from the American Revolutionary War. Here, we’ll examine the numerous causes of this momentous rebellion, highlighting not just the difficulties of the day but also their impact on the course of American history.

Shays’ Rebellion was directly caused by economic hardship. Many had anticipated a time of prosperity following the war, but this was not the case. Rather, the states were burdened with high war debt. Like many other states, Massachusetts decided to pay back these debts in a way that would have severe consequences for a large number of its inhabitants, especially farmers. The government imposed high taxes that had to be paid with hard currency, which was in short supply. Small farmers, many of whom were combat veterans already burdened by personal debts accrued during the fight, were particularly badly struck by this tax policy.

The legal and financial system of the era, which appeared to prioritize serving the interests of the wealthy coastal merchants and political elites over the demands of the rural masses, added to their financial problems. The laws permitted severe punishments, including as incarceration or land seizure, when farmers failed to pay their debts or taxes. Many so felt abandoned and disenfranchised by a regime they had previously struggled to overthrow.

The social fabric of western Massachusetts, predominantly rural and agrarian, was also significantly different from the maritime and more commercially oriented eastern part of the state. This cultural and economic divide led to a sense of neglect and mistreatment by the state’s government, which was centered in Boston and often dominated by commercial interests. The government’s failure to address the concerns of western farmers was perceived not just as neglect, but as active disenfranchisement.

In response to this cascade of pressures, Daniel Shays, a former war captain, became a symbolic leader of the uprising. Shays did not start the movement but was propelled to the forefront as events escalated. The rebels, consisting mostly of poor farmers, took up arms in late 1786, protesting the foreclosures of farms for debt and attempting to capture several armories to acquire weapons.

The rebellion did not succeed in military terms. It was quashed early in 1787 by a state militia. However, its impact resonated far beyond Massachusetts. The national government, under the Articles of Confederation, had been unable to assist Massachusetts in quelling the rebellion, exposing the weaknesses in the federal system. This event played a crucial role in shaping the discussions at the Constitutional Convention later that year, where delegates recognized the need for a stronger central government that could maintain order and ensure economic stability.

In reflection, Shays’ Rebellion was more than a simple armed uprising. It was a manifestation of significant societal and economic pressures and a catalyst for broader constitutional change in the United States. The rebellion highlighted the need for a government that balanced the needs of all its citizens — rural and urban, rich and poor — and led to the creation of a new Constitution that provided for a stronger federal structure.

This period of American history serves as a reminder of the ongoing struggle to find the right balance between governance and the rights of the governed. It underscores the importance of listening to the voices of all segments of society, particularly those who may feel marginalized or left behind by rapid political and economic changes. The lessons from Shays’ Rebellion continue to resonate, emphasizing the need for inclusive governance and the careful management of economic policy to avoid disenfranchisement and unrest.

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PapersOwl.com. (2024). Shays' Rebellion: Causes and Consequences of the 1786 Uprising . [Online]. Available at: https://papersowl.com/examples/shays-rebellion-causes-and-consequences-of-the-1786-uprising/ [Accessed: 3-Aug-2024]

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