Shay’s Rebellion: Then and Now
While rebellion is not always a healthy thing, as a result of Shay’s Rebellion we have learned many things about financial hardship after the Revolutionary War, how this affected masses of people, and how rebellion has shaped America today. Daniel Shays was one of the main leaders of the rebellion known as Shay’s Rebellion that occurred from 1786 to 1787, what Jonathan Smith says to be “one the most dramatic and significant incidents in the critical post-Revolutionary War period.” (Smith 77) With the Revolutionary War coming to an end in September of 1783, America, and its citizens, were struggling not only financially, but also politically. Financial struggles stemmed from the massive debt that the U.S. acquired
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. .. God forbid we should ever be twenty years without such a rebellion. The people cannot be all, and always, well informed….Let them take arms. …The tree of liberty must be refreshed, from time to time, with the blood of patriots and tyrants. It is its natural manure.” (Jefferson) As we look back we can see two separate sides of the argument, one opposing the rebellion and one supporting it. When looking at the quote previously stated we see an argument in favor of the rebellion. “The people cannot be all, and always, well informed.” Some hardships in this world can go unnoticed by the people that do not experience them, and the hardships of this time were high taxes. With this, a high tax burden to pay off war debts owed to the mercantilists fell hardest on farmers, who were required also to pay in specie. (Jensen 240) Reform did not take place until protests occurred that went beyond the boundaries of legislative requests. The farmers initial protesting began innocently and peacefully. Between 1784 and 1787, yeomen (a landholder) in Massachusetts towns sent petitions to the General Court in Boston. Many farmers went to county conventions to expose their economic grievances (Szatmary 38). Through many conventions and town meetings held from 1784 to 1786, not once was an overthrow of the government in the conversation (Szatmary 43). The farmers made an effort towards reform, peacefully through a legislative process, but no improvement was made. With no reformation or legislative action taking place, farmers turned to other forms of action. This is when attacks began appearing towards the New England Court System (Szatmary 42). These armed attacks on courts led to tyranny, and eventually through losses to militia, the rebellion of Shaysites declined. Although the rebellion ended, the thought of the possibility of another rebellion remained and through this fear reform took place. Not until a rebellion
Although not widely known, Shays’s Rebellion greatly impacted the debate on sovereignty and led many to conclude that the only possible solution was the centralization of power in a national authority. Historian John Garraty notes, “The lessons became plain: Liberty must not become an excuse for license; and therefore greater authority must be vested in the central government.”[1] While this effect was not the “rebels’” intended goal, Shays’s Rebellion helped shape the construction of the U.S. Constitution and the American political thought that has since followed. An analysis of both the causes and effects of Shays’s Rebellion highlights its contribution to the
Thomas Jefferson believed the Shay’s Rebellion was a very significant event. In the year 1787, he wrote a letter, conveying his idea of rebellions. “Yet where does this anarchy exist?” a line written in Jefferson’s letter. This tells us his idea of Shay’s rebellion. From this one line we can conclude that he does not believe there is a real chaos going on. “God forbid we should ever be 20 years without such a rebellion.” What he means by this is that rebellions sometimes do need to happen. It makes up what helps us learn and improve. “The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.” When he says this he means that sacrifices have to be made in order for us to
This only added to the idea that all the states needed to have a national currency. In addition, Shay’s Rebellion further inspired the movement, because it left many veterans in debt after the trade depression. This increased the social pressure placed on the
By 1750, strains between Native Americans and colonists were still existing, leading to growing rebellious groups. In the backcountry, frontiersmen showed their frustration and opinions through bloody mutinies and rebellions. By joining together, they were able to make a point to their fellow peers and government officials. The March of Paxton Boys & Regulator Movement were both colonial uprisings, in an attempt to reform or dislodge the government and some of its officials. Contrariwise, Shay’s Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion were both protests against some form of the economy; yet all were very dangerous acts of violence in colonial America.
a defiance by account holder agriculturists in western Massachusetts, drove by Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, against Boston banks. it started in 1786 and endured a large portion of a year, undermining the monetary interests of the business world class and adding to the destruction of the
The Constitution was put into effect in 1789. After the adoption of the Constitution, America had three presidents from 1789-1809. These presidents were: George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. George Washington set out many precedents for the country and for future presidents. John Adams efforts helped to end the Quasi war.
#3. Why did the USA Constitution replace the Articles of Confederation? The United States Constitution was duly nicknamed The Bundle of Compromises because it was just that, a collection compromises. After the thirteen American colonies declared independence from Great Britain there was a need to form a stronger union and government in order to be successful in their campaign.
The Shays rebellion was a rebellion in which Daniel Shays and other men argued to the government that they felt that the Articles of Confederation was not protecting their unalienable rights ,and they didn’t receive the government's promise. This was an important event in history because it lead to The Constitution
The end of the Revolution was not the end of political turmoil in the United States. In the years following the Revolution, political parties were forming and disbanding which then led to rebellions starting. The future of what the country looked like was seen differently by each political faction. All of the conflicting views of American politics began to manifest into governmental affairs because of the imposed tax on distilled spirits made by the federal government to pay off the nation’s debts from the American Revolution. This tax was only to be paid in cash, which was particularly hard on the small frontier farmers because of the fact that they bartered and did not have access to currency. Protests ran by frontiersmen occurred because
I believe Jefferson would likely support modern day protests because of his letter about Shay’s rebellion and the evidence found from the Declaration of Independence. For example, in his letter about Shay’s rebellion, an example of the text is, “And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let the people take arms. The remedy is to present them with the facts, pardon and pacify them.” According to the text, it shows that in order to know if the country’s rules are working, they must be notified by their people. This shows that Jefferson believes that the people should protest to show their perspective on the laws set upon them. To add on, another
Daniel Shay is a national criminal in the United States, and his crimes will not be taken lightly. When we catch him, he will be sentenced to prison, along with any other men who were on his side. In case you have not heard, Daniel Shay created a large uprising last year that is finally over now. We call it “Shay’s Rebellion,” but it is basically just one big protest that he and his farming community started.
The economic problems that led to Shay’s rebellion began with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, which ended the revolutionary war and recognized America’s independence. America’s independence came with some unforeseen complications, since America was no longer a British colony they were cut out of many British markets including the Caribbean. Also many American merchants were in debt to British creditors and the creditors demanded cash payments with short deadlines and harsh punishments. This in turn caused American merchants to demand their money back from businesses who were in debt to them. These businesses then called for farmers and smaller businesses to pay back their debts. In addition to having to pay back their mounting debt farmers also had to pay taxes that were being raised by
Post-Revolution America was not a fairy tale. It is common knowledge that war of any type is a rather expensive endeavor. Naturally, at some point these costs of war must be paid regardless of the state of the economy. In addition, it was also clear that the Federal Government of the United States was not allowed to levy taxes per the Articles of Confederation, as such; this burden fell on the states. Shays Rebellion lead by Daniel Shays was an uprising to close the courts and prevent property seizure of unpaid debts (Manning). In the foreword to Secretary of War Henry Knox’s, letter to George Washington it is mentioned that many members of the states felt oppressed by the taxes levied on them. Knox’s letter then goes on to discuss a brief
The end of the Revolution and the economic crisis that followed changed the course of what would be the United States and its government. Post-war debt led to the creation of a new tax policy, a poll tax that was imposed on every citizen without
Shays Rebellion was caused by the extensive taxing the citizens of Massachusetts. The taxes fell heavily upon the poorer citizens of Massachusetts. When the Massachusetts legislature refused to relieve citizens of the burdens of such taxes. In response, a protest grew, with many people sympathizing with the protesters’ cause. A former army captain and farmer, Daniel Shays rounded up a group of over a thousand farmers, eventually leading this group to march on the federal arsenal in Springfield,