103 Shays' Rebellion Facts: Causes, Significance, Result, And Much More

A country's government is created to maintain order and provide public services and security to its people.

Most governments today strive for the betterment of their people, but that has not always been the case. The contemporary world has learned that a nation can only be successful when all of its people are satisfied, not just a select group.

There were times in many countries' histories when tyrannical governments ruled them. As years passed, people became more educated about themselves, their surroundings, and the rights and wrongs of their world. They started rebelling against tyrannical rules and unreasonable laws.

The nation of America also witnessed many such rebellions and social reforms while it was growing. One such act of rebellion in the history of the United States of America is the Shays' Rebellion. Details and facts about this rebellion are penned down below.

If this historical article has piqued your interest, check out our other recommendations: American Civil War facts and Stono Rebellion facts here on Kidadl.

Facts About Shays' Rebellion

The act of revolt that happened in the regions of Western Massachusetts, opposing the high taxes imposed by the state government on both individuals and their trades, is known as the Shays' Rebellion. This uprising happened between the years of 1786 and 1787, mainly in and around Springfield, a city in Massachusetts.

Shays' Rebellion was led by Daniel Shays, a farmer in the region.

Captain Daniel Shays was also involved in the American War of Independence. The rebels he led against these social and economic injustices were called Shaysites, after the leader himself.

People's dissatisfaction and rebellion against heavy tax imposition and brash debt and tax collection methods started in western Massachusetts around 1782. During these early stages, small groups of rebels prevented tax collections and the foreclosure of properties.

Several petitions and appeals were even submitted to the state legislature for relief from these practices. They were all rejected or ignored.

Enraged by their conditions and the state government's corrupt practices, several poor farmers and veteran soldiers began forming groups to shut down the courts at different towns in Massachusetts on different dates.

The very first court to shut down was the county court of Northampton in August 1786. The protestors shut down the courts to prevent them from issuing foreclosures, seizures, and debt collection orders.

In September 1786, Daniel Shays led a group of several hundred men to protest and successfully adjourned the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts in Springfield without hearing any cases. Daniel Shays, Luke Day, and some other leaders next planned to attack the Springfield armory to raid it for weapons to use against the government.

The plan was to attack the Springfield armory from three different directions by three different groups.

The attack was prevented by William Shepherd, who had a militia ready to protect the federal armory. After several warning shots were fired at them, the rebels dispersed and fled from the attack.

The group of rebels under Shays and Day that fled north were attacked by the privately funded militia force led by Benjamin Lincoln.

Lincoln attacked the rebel camp at dawn by secretly leading his troupe in the snowstorm the previous night. Many of the rebels were captured, while the ringleaders like Daniel Shays and Luke Day escaped to the neighboring states of Vermont and Vermont.

With the attack on the rebel camp and the fleeing of the leaders, the Shays rebellion dissolved. Apart from a few small struggles here and there, the state was otherwise free of any major uprisings.

Though the rebellion was over and the rebels were crushed, the Shays Rebellion can be called a success historically, as it became a catalyst for the Constitutional Convention that happened in Philadelphia and helped to form a new government.

Historical Facts About Shays' Rebellion

Like any other event that changes the course of history or has a significant amount of impact on it, Shays' Rebellion also involved many important personalities. They included people on the rebellion side, as well as those working on behalf of the government to suppress the rebellions.

Along with Daniel Shays, many soldiers and farmers, like Luke Day and Eli Parsons, headed many forces during the Shays Rebellion.

These forces shut down courthouses and prevented foreclosure and tax collection executions, as well as freed imprisoned debtors from jails. One of the earliest uprisings against the government was headed by Job Shattuck, a soldier in the Massachusetts militia during the Revolutionary War.

In 1782, Shattuck, along with a few other men, prevented tax collectors from doing their work, and in 1786, he led a group of protestors in shutting down the county court in Concord.

John Hancock was the governor of Massachusetts when the unrest in its rural regions began. Hancock was relatively lenient in tax collections.

He resigned as governor in 1785 and was re-elected after the rebellion was over. John Hancock pardoned the sentences of many rebel leaders of Shays' Rebellion during his second office.

James Bowdoin was the governor during the uprising. As soon as he became governor, Bowdoin imposed a heavy tax on the citizens and stepped up the back tax collection.

While Bowdoin proposed the idea of forming a privately funded army to crush the rebels, Benjamin Lincoln, a former Continental Army general, was the one who formed a force of 3,000 men. Lincoln was also the one who defeated the rebels in Petersham, Massachusetts.

William Shepherd, the local militia general, was another important figure in the rebellion as he defended the federal armory in Springfield against the rebel force attack. These were the most important historical figures during Shays' Rebellion.

Causes Of Shays' Rebellion

A few years after the Revolutionary War, the newly formed nation faced a civil conflict in the western Massachusetts part. The soldiers who fought for the United States started rebelling against the government. The many causes that led to this outcome are detailed below.

After the American Revolutionary War, the nation was heavily in debt because of the enormous expense the war had covered. Each state was also responsible for repaying its own debt.

To solve this issue, the merchants of the state convinced the Massachusetts legislature to increase the tax burden on the people. Citizens in the western regions of the state had little on their hands other than land to farm.

They mostly traded in barter systems and credit systems. After the war, they were expected to pay hard currency to the merchants and local markets. The poor farmers could not overcome this economic crisis.

Unlike other state legislatures that forgave the debt and printed paper money, the Massachusetts government foreclosed and seized the properties of people. People who couldn't pay the tax or repay the debt were even thrown into prisons.

This mistreatment of helpless people enraged them. Soldiers like Shays, who fought in the Independence War with a minimum wage and no pension, felt especially wronged.

Many veteran soldiers and poverty-stricken farmers decided to rebel against the tyrannical rule of the state, backed by wealthy merchants. The state's corrupt nature and lack of basic consideration towards its poorer citizens can be considered the leading causes of the rebellion.

Shays' Rebellion's Significance

After obtaining independence, the nation of the USA was governed by the Articles of Confederation. The main principle of these articles was to ensure the sovereignty and independence of the 13 states. The central government formed under the Articles was a weak body with a very limited say in state affairs.

Though the Shays' Rebellion ended with a defeated rebel force and runaway leaders, it still served the significant purpose of exposing the weakness of the Articles of Confederation to the states.

The Shays' Rebellion opened eyes to the fact that the federal government did not have money as well as a military organization to protect the nation as the central authority wasn't allowed to collect taxes.

The rebellion also shed light on the strengthening of federal authority to cater to the needs and security of the people by providing them with basic protection from partial and corrupt state governments.

The Shays' Rebellion impacted the nation by convincing many leaders from different states, including George Washington, to get together and form the Constitutional Convention to rewrite the Articles and form the Constitution of the United States of America. George Washington became the first president of the nation under the newly formed government.

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