Causes Of Daniel Shays Rebellion

After the Revolutionary War, the Articles of Confederation were created to govern the new nation. The states were loosely tied together by a weak national government that had little applicable power. The states were left to individually find ways to pay for their war debts. Massachusetts did so by heavily taxing its people. The taxes were so heavy that in many cases people were paying more than they had paid under British rule. Daniel Shays, feeling outraged and betrayed, helped to organize the already present groups of fellow angry farmers into a rebel army. His army numbered close to 2,000 men. January 25, 1787 was to be the day that Shays would lead his men to attack the federal arsenal at Springfield. Due to communication difficulties, about 400 of Shays men were not

(5) In Massachusetts, Daniel Shay led many farmers who were in debt to the courthouse to protest. Many of these farmers had fought in the war and when they came back they were in debt from all the taxes. This was later known as Shay’s Rebellion and since these farmers were in almost every state, state officials were afraid that this uprising would spread. Because of Shay’s Rebellion, the officials wanted to preclude further rebellion from occurring throughout the states. For if it did up rise, they knew their government would look even more unstable from other countries point of view. George Washington’s repartee was that their enemies would be happy to see that they were not able to govern themselves.

The first event was in 1786, where a group of protestors made a nonviolent show of force aimed at closing down the civil courts that prosecuted the debt cases, and succeeded in preventing courts from sitting. The state militia withdrew to guard the federal armory at Springfield; but there were concerns that the Regulators would go after the weapons and gunpowder stored there. The government finally intervened, issuing curfews and suspended habeas corpus, the law that states that no one shall be kept in jail before being proved guilty. These actions raised tensions and radicalized the Regulators. Due to the weakness of the Articles of Confederation, the central government was unable to contribute meaningfully to emergent crisis. The inability to end this dispute peacefully led the blood being shed in 1787, where Massachusetts governor James Bowdoin personally raised a private state army made up of three thousand militiamen. A miscommunication on the Regulators side caused a group to march toward the armory a day early. Shays' fourteen hundred men approached the armory unsupported by their allies. Bowdoin's militia pursued the defeated rebels, and managed to scatter the rebels force completely, but Shays was able to escape, fleeing to Vermont. This battle was the effective end of the rebellion (Stock). The ineffectiveness of the central government to contain this uprising led to the

The actions of the members of the Shay’s Rebellion were justified because state officials took their land, to pay their own debt. Shay’s Rebellion was a fight against government control. The country after the Revolutionary War was severely damaged especially in the trade market. The British cut off trades in the West Indies market crippling the economy. Due to the poor economy the farmers had difficulty selling their products and being able to pay the money requested to the government to pay off their war debts. This enabled the states to take the farmers’ land to pay the state's debts. Shay’s Rebellion, although dangerous the rebellion wanted to force the government to making their own money and create new policies in order to pay off the

The rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada were in the interests of self-government but were doomed to failure from their beginning. Each of these two colonies encountered a great deal of problems right from the institution of the Constitution Act of 1791 and the problems continually got worse until the only choice to some seem to be rebellion. There were several problems that lead to the rebellions of 1837-38. In Lower Canada there was the agricultural crisis that caused a large number of starvations, to the French and English political and social problems within the colony. There were several different reasons that caused the rebellion in Upper Canada but these caused were mainly rooted in

Daniel Shays served role as an American officer in the American Revolution from 1775 to 1780 and also became known as one of the leaders of Shays Rebellion, which lasted from 1786 to 1787. In 1780 he resigned from the army, and settled in Pelham, Massachusetts, where he held numerous town offices. Soon after, wealth reigned in America at the signing of the peace treaty in 1783, but was quickly transformed into a severe economic depression. He began his rebellion when property holders, including himself, began losing their belongings through confiscations for unpaid debts and taxes and became subject to debtor’s imprisonment. Protests then followed, with threats of violence against the courts conducting the enforcements and arraignments. This is when Shays arose as one of the several leaders of what came to be known as Shays Rebellion. After the Rebellion was over, he and approximately a dozen others were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court of Massachusetts. However, towards the end of the rebellion, Shays had escaped to Vermont, soon afterwards he moved to Schoharie county, New York, and then a few years later moved further west to Sparta, New York. Shays, in his old age, was granted a retirement pension by the federal government for the five years he served in the Continental Army without pay. He lived the last couple years of his life in poverty, as a heavy drinker and supported himself on his pension by working a small piece of land. He later

Daniel Shays was born in 1747, being the second child out of (what would be) six children. His father, an immigrant from Ireland, worked as a servant. Shays did not have much of an education. However, he worked as a farm laborer like most young men in this time period. Once he got older, moved away from his parents, and settled with his wife, he became a farmer in West Massachusetts. Daniel Shays was always known to love the military and the thought of it. He also wanted his role and reputation to be greatly known. His role in American history is colossal and extremely important. There are many great aspect of Daniel Shays; he stood up for what he believed in and led a remarkable rebellion.

The influence of political factors and change cannot be ignored when weighing up the most significant cause of rebellion throughout the Tudor period. Both in England and Ireland, political unrest was common among all of the Tudor Monarchs meaning it was a consistent factor in all rebellions across the era. The main problems came from self-serving greed, with plans to overthrow the Monarchs in order to position someone who would be in their favour or get rid of corrupt advisors in order to attain more political influence.

In the book “Shays’ Rebellion: Authority and Distress in Post-revolutionary America”, Sean Condon shows us his outlook on how he saw post-revolutionary America to be within the late 1770’s and 1780’s. This book was released in 2015 by John Hopkins University Press, and was also made in a continuing book series by Peter Charles Hoffer and Willamjames Hull Hofer called Witness to History. The story takes us "Throughout the late summer and fall of 1786, farmers in central and western Massachusetts organized themselves into armed groups to protest against established authority and aggressive creditors. Calling themselves "regulators" or the "voice of the people.”” [1] Condon succeeds by prosing an appealing idea in an upfront style that shapes

“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing” (Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson wrote these words in a letter to James Madison after hearing about Shay’s Rebellion while he was a foreign diplomat in Paris. After the rebellion happened, the “Shaysites” as they were called, were labeled as traitors to their country and the democratic form of government. But were they really? Many of the men fighting in the rebellion felt that they were being oppressed just as they had been under British rule.

Would you work for a government that expected you to put your life in jeopardy, did not pay you for your service and then try to seize your house and property to settle your debts? This is exactly what Daniel Shays’ government tried to do to him after returning home injured during the Revolutionary War. So why did he choose the path and become a member of the military? He didn’t, he had little choice due to financial debts! He was like many other young Americans at the time; without land to farm and continually hiring himself out to make a living. He eventually joining the local Massachusetts Militia to pick up some extra pay and expand his skill sets. Much can be said about this man, was he a visionary leader? In Main

A rebellion that took place in 1676 by Virginia settlers. It was led by Nathaniel Bacon, a Virginia farmer who was against the rule of Governor William Berkeley. It was one of the most confusing yet intriguing events in Jamestown History. Based on findings and more distal viewpoints, historians came to this conclusion that Bacon's Rebellion was a power struggle between two stubborn and selfish leaders that were opposed to this idea of tyranny. High taxes, low prices for tobacco, and resentment against special privileges, provided justification for the Bacon’s uprising. This was spreaded by Berkley’s failure to defend the frontier from the attacks of the Native Americans. Bacon commanded two unauthorized but successful expeditions against the

The Boxer Rebellion was a renowned uprising that occurred in China from 1899-1901, however there have been many debates between historians surrounding the possible causes that fuelled the rebellion. There were three major causes that may have encouraged the rebellion, these include anti-foreign, anti-Christian and anti-Qing sentiment present within in the Chinese communities where Boxers originated from, such as Shandong. Historians often question the different impacts and used a series of extended research to back up their view, this results in an unclear conclusion, however there were some ideas that were more popular and sought out.

Spirit Boxers, Red Lanterns, and Big Sword Society (to name a few) had a goal to

The nation fell into a recession after the Revolutionary War and the disastrous financial situation allowed by the Articles only made matters worse. The problems with the Articles became undeniable in 1786 when Daniel Shay, a Massachusetts farmer and retired captain in the Continental Army, led his fellow farmers in resistance against farm foreclosures. He led armed bands of these men against the courts of western Massachusetts in an effort to force a closure of the court system (Text, 110). The rebellion was defeated by January of the following year but it was clear that change was needed.