Shays' Rebellion
“In the first years of peacetime, following the Revolutionary War, the future of both the agrarian and commercial society appeared threatened by a strangling chain of debt which aggravated the depressed economy of the postwar years”.1 This poor economy affected almost everyone in New England especially the farmers. For years these farmers, or yeomen as they were commonly called, had been used to growing just enough for what they needed and grew little in surplus. As one farmer explained “ My farm provides me and my family with a good living. Nothing we wear, eat, or drink was purchased, because my farm provides it all.”2 The only problem with this way of life is that with no surplus there was no way to make enough money to pay excessive debts. For example, since farmer possessed little money the merchants offered the articles they needed on short-term credit and accepted any surplus farm goods on a seasonal basis for payment. However if the farmer experienced a poor crop, shopkeepers usually extended credit and thereby tied the farmer to their businesses on a yearly basis.3 During a credit crisis, the gradual disintegration of the traditional culture became more apparent. During hard times, mercha
The rebels primary plan was not one to show the need for national supremacy and a new constitution. “We did not intend to destroy law, but only to reform all those laws which were oppressive” said one Shaysite farmer.16 The Importance of Shays’ Rebellion was not so much the acts of rebellion themselves but how it pointed out the weakness of the Articles of Confederation for governing the United States. In order to prevent such anarchy in the future and to strengthen the central government, the Philadelphia Convention convened to draft the Constitution in the spring of 1787, just a short time after the end of Shays’ Rebellion. For example, in the very first part of our present day Constitution called the preamble it states “ to ensure domestic tranquility”.17 This is a definite “red flag” that Shays’ Rebellion was on the minds of many delegates The person that was chosen to lead the rebellion was Daniel Shays. Shays, born in Hopkinton Massachusetts, grew up as a farmer before he fought for his country in the War for Independence. During the War he fought in such key battles as the Battle of Lexington, Bunker Hill and Saratoga. For his success in battle he was awarded the rank of Captain and after the War returned to civilian life. After the War he held a political office in Pelham, Massachusetts but during the beginning of the rebellion his sympathies were with the farmers which is what brought him into the fight.7 The farmers decided that the person who should lead them into rebellion against their own government had to, in the words of a farmer, ”Be a firm leader and a man the is capable of keeping his head in case of emergency and I belive Daniel Shays is that such man.”8 So now the lines were drawn and a leader was picked it was time for action. Shays’ men were restless and wanted to take action. So while they were outside courthouse at Springfield they talked about kidnaping the judges and holding them as hostages. Daniel Shays was doing his best to hold them back. The Massachusetts militia was present but would not defend the judges, court was adjourned and the judges snuck away. Shays’ men then took control of the empty courthouse. Then on a prearranged signal the two groups dismissed. 9 Now after this event, numerous court house throughout the state begin to be held up by other farmers groups inspired by the actions of Shays’ men. For example, the Hampshire Country court, Great Barrington, and Worcester Court of Common Pleas were all held up during the rebellion. Some of these were pro
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Approximate Word count = 1723
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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