SHAYS’ REBELLION The Event that Almost Destroyed a New Nation 1

BACKGROUND & CAUSES After 8 years of war, the American Revolution was over, and General George Washington retired to a hero’s welcome at his home in Mt. Vernon, Virginia. 2

However, the new country under the Articles of Confederation had troubles: an empty treasury crushing war debt depression economic crisis 3

Soldiers of the Colonial Army had been promised back pay and pensions. However, there was no money to pay them for their service. Upon release from the army, soldiers were -- allowed to keep uniforms and their musket, issued one month’s pay, awarded worthless government certificates. 4

There was resentment & distrust brewing in Massachusetts: Representatives from western parts of the state could not attend their convention because of bad weather. The State Convention raised the property requirements for voting,, excluding many former soldiers who had fought for the country’s freedom. 5

6 Massachusetts wanted to pay back war debt in three years by raising property taxes while trade merchants saw little or no change in their taxes. Unpaid taxes led to debtors’ court and seized property. Meanwhile, judges, lawyers, and merchants made money from the auctioned property.

Merchants in the eastern cities made money by re-establishing overseas trade and bustling businesses. 7

The farmers of western Massachusetts were disenfranchised and desperate, as many were tried in court and put in debtors’ prison. The political leaders of eastern Massachusetts considered the farmers “knaves and thieves” who threatened the freedoms won in the war. 8

9 “ ----That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed –--That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or abolish it, and to institute new Government…” Groups of farmers and former soldiers met in Conkey’s Tavern and shared their frustrations … Did they remember the words of the Declaration of Independence that they had fought for?

Calling themselves “Regulators,” the farmers and former soldiers issued demands: That paper money be printed and backed by gold That no arrests be made for closing down courts That no courts convene until the judicial system was reformed That the state constitution be amended to be more fair to all constituents (taxes, voting rights) 10

DANIEL SHAYS STEPS IN AS LEADER As a Regulator, Shays rallied and organized rebels into these actions in the fall of 1786: They mobbed courthouses in Northampton, Great Barrington, & Worcester to prevent judicial actions; They stormed the courthouse in Northampton to prevent trials & imprisonment of debtors; They attempted to storm the courthouse at Springfield, but a militia sent by the governor stopped them. 11

CONFRONTATION – JANUARY 25, 1787 Capt. Shays led 1400 men toward Springfield, with the object of obtaining weapons and heading for Boston to overthrow the government. General Lincoln with a militia of 4400 men, paid for by the wealthy merchants of Boston, was approaching from the east. General Shepard commanded 1200 men at the Springfield Armory. 12

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Shays and his men took a stand in front of the armory. General Shepard had his men fire warning shots above the Regulators’ heads. The rebels did not budge. Then the General ordered cannons fired at “waistband height” and grapeshot sprayed from a howitzer. Four of the Regulators died and twenty were wounded. 14

RETREAT & AFTERMATH Shays’ army & two other factions retreated in disarray to small towns where they were known and collapsed in exhaustion. Meanwhile, General Lincoln decided to pursue them at night through a bitter snowstorm. Frost-bitten & exhausted, his men nevertheless routed the Regulators. Many, including Daniel Shays, slipped away, to New Hampshire and Vermont, where they were sheltered from the death sentences awaiting them. 15

IMPACT OF SHAYS’ REBELLION George Washington thought it “not probable that the mischiefs will terminate.” He thought “… when this spirit first dawned, probably it might easily have been checked; but it is scarcely within the reach of human ken, at this moment, to say when, or where, or how it will end.” 16

George Washington came out of retirement to attend the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia 17

18 Some Regulators were hanged, while others were pardoned. Shays lived in Vermont until he was pardoned two years after the rebellion. He moved back to Massachusetts where he lived in poverty. Daniel Shays finally received his pension at the age of 77; he died at age 78.