The Actions Of Shay's Rebellion

Shay’s rebellion was led by a man named Daniel Shay in 1787. This was an historic event that shaped history in its own way. This uprising began in Massachusetts in the year of 1786. Daniel shay was characterized and labeled as a rebel, traitor, and a coward. He was also considered a devoted nationalist and a decent military officer supporting America’s revolution. He dedicated over five years of his life in service of America`s government. He mobilized everyone who disagreed with his government’s actions during the time. Shay was able to lead a militia of over 2000 men. The militia was armed and willing and ready to burn down Boston. According to miller (71), Jefferson heard of the rebellion while in France but felt that it would not last long.

-Stated in the preface, Leonard L. Richards had heard the standard story of Shays's Rebellion time and time again. While finding a last-minute book for his class, he discovered in a footnote that the Massachusetts Archives had the names of the Shaysites,not just the names of the leaders, but some four thousand names. With most rebellions, finding out who participated is difficult, making this unusual. Again by accident, Richards learned that the university library had the pertinent state archives on microfilm. After working through the bad handwriting, Richards found out that the "standard story" he was taught made little sense. I believe that in wanting to tell the story right, Richards did more research and it led to his writing of this book.

There were many rebellions in the United States history, some peaceful and some violent. Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 are examples of two brutal rebellions that led to death of many innocent people. Rebellions can develop due to many conditions including unfair laws, unfair treatment, and a disagreement over a sensitive topic. The Shays' Rebellion showed the Articles of Confederation was too weak, while the Whiskey Rebellion proved the Constitution to be a strong framework of government.

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 factors leading to Shay’s Rebellion was that at the time, money was pretty much worthless because there was little gold and silver to back the currency. Farmers suffered the most because

8. Shay’s Rebellion- farmers in the central part of Massachusetts with the leader Daniel Shays seized the armory in Springfield, Massachusetts before the state militia put down the rebellion and executed several of the conspirators. Exposed the weakness of the American government under the old “articles of confederation” added urgency to the meeting in Philadelphia to replace articles with constitution. A bunch of farmers put a threat on government. See whiskey Rebellion 1794, the government was stronger with the constitution.

Bacon's Rebellion may have served as the first civil uprising within the early settlements of America. Led by Nathaniel Bacon, a militia of armed freedmen, slaves, and poor colonist banded together to fight against a government that they felt was corrupt and did not have their best interests in mind. This paper will examine some of the major causes that led to the rebellion such as the increased westward expansion by the colonists, the civil unrest growing between the social classes, rising taxes, and disputes between colonists and neighboring indian tribes.

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

Daniel Shays’ participated in wars early on in his life, but eventually settled in Pelham, Massachusetts, and owned about 250 acres of farmland. Continued financial difficulties from the war led Shays to sell over half the farmland, and later being sued for unpaid debts and had much difficulty in meeting his obligations. A prodigious amount of farmers in Massachusetts during this time were going through similar financial hardships; because of the Massachusetts legislature attempting to pay off its state’s war debts, they used hard taxation policies, causing situations to become worse. People petitioned for better relief and reforms but none came, the legislature in Massachusetts ignoring the fact that their citizens are petitioning and sending them resolutions to fix this problem. This led to the rebellion of the farmers against the government: Shays’ 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

“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.

“Better to fight for something than to live for nothing.” -George S. Patton. This is the opinion of many, and may have been in the minds of Shays’ and his followers in the event known as Shays’ Rebellion. Shays’ Rebellion was an event where farmers rebelled against the government for taxes that were “too high”. They stole weapons and though they were small in number, scared people around the country.

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.

The question of Shays rebellion being rebels or freedom fighters is a highly debated topic in US history. Although some people may think that they were reckless rebels, nevertheless they were just trying to be heard, and they were freedom fighters with a good cause trying to keep what was theirs, because the government was giving them unlawful punishment if they couldn’t pay their taxes, the government wasted their money on vanity, and lastly the farmers fought back in big ways that may have seemed reckless, and rebel-like, but they were just trying to be heard.

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.