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SHAYS REBELLION
Long before the cries of “support the troops” became commonplace during every U.S. military
intervention, the powers-that-be made it clear how much they intended to follow their own advice.
“When Massachusetts passed a state constitution in 1780, it found few friends among the poor
and middle class, many of them veterans from the Continental Army still waiting for promised
bonuses,” explains historian Kenneth C. Davis. To add to this, excessive property taxes were
combined with polling taxes designed to prevent the poor from voting. “No one could hold state
office without being quite wealthy,” Howard Zinn adds. “Furthermore, the legislature was refusing
to issue paper money, as had been done in some other states, like Rhode Island, to make it easier
for debt-ridden farmers to pay off their creditors.”
Perhaps heeding the advice of Thomas Jefferson that “a little rebellion” is necessary,
Massachusetts farmers fought back when their property was seized due to lack of debt
repayment. Armed and organized, their ranks grew into the hundreds. Local sheriffs called out the
militia… but the militia sided with the farmers. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
indicted eleven members of the rebellion. Those who had so recently fomented revolt were no
longer tolerant of such insurrection.
Enter Daniel Shays (1747-1825): Massachusetts farmer and former Army captain. He chose not to
stand by idly as battle lines were being drawn and friends of his faced imprisonment. In September
1786, Shays led an army of some 700 farmers, workers, and veterans into Springfield. “Onetime
intervention, the powers-that-be made it clear how much they intended to follow their own advice.
“When Massachusetts passed a state constitution in 1780, it found few friends among the poor
and middle class, many of them veterans from the Continental Army still waiting for promised
bonuses,” explains historian Kenneth C. Davis. To add to this, excessive property taxes were
combined with polling taxes designed to prevent the poor from voting. “No one could hold state
office without being quite wealthy,” Howard Zinn adds. “Furthermore, the legislature was refusing
to issue paper money, as had been done in some other states, like Rhode Island, to make it easier
for debt-ridden farmers to pay off their creditors.”
Perhaps heeding the advice of Thomas Jefferson that “a little rebellion” is necessary,
Massachusetts farmers fought back when their property was seized due to lack of debt
repayment. Armed and organized, their ranks grew into the hundreds. Local sheriffs called out the
militia… but the militia sided with the farmers. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts
indicted eleven members of the rebellion. Those who had so recently fomented revolt were no
longer tolerant of such insurrection.
Enter Daniel Shays (1747-1825): Massachusetts farmer and former Army captain. He chose not to
stand by idly as battle lines were being drawn and friends of his faced imprisonment. In September
1786, Shays led an army of some 700 farmers, workers, and veterans into Springfield. “Onetime
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