Shays's Rebellion

Shays's Rebellion
An illustration of Shays's troops repulsed from the armory in Springfield in early 1787
DateAugust 29, 1786 – February 1787
Location
Western Massachusetts, United States
Caused by
  • Economic conflict between farmers and merchants
  • Aggressive tax and debt collection
  • Political corruption and cronyism
GoalsReform of state government, later overthrow of state government
Methods
  • Direct action to close courthouse
  • Attempted seizure of federal arsenal at Springfield Armory
Resulted in
  • Rebellion crushed
  • Weak federal reaction helps spur Constitutional Convention
Parties

 United States

Regulators
Lead figures
Number
4,000+ (largest force 3,000)
4,000+ (largest force 1,500)
Casualties and losses
  • 3 killed[1]
  • Dozens wounded
  • 6 killed
  • Dozens wounded
  • Many arrested
  • 2 executed by hanging

Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their trades.[2][3][4] The fighting took place in the areas around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. Historically, scholars have argued that the four thousand rebels, called Shaysites, who protested against economic and civil rights injustices by the Massachusetts Government were led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays. By the early 2020s, scholarship has suggested that Shays's role in the protests was significantly and strategically exaggerated by Massachusetts elites, who had a political interest in shifting blame for bad economic conditions away from themselves.[5][6]

In 1787, the protesters marched on the federal Springfield Armory in an unsuccessful attempt to seize its weaponry and overthrow the government. The federal government, severely limited in its prerogatives under the Articles of Confederation, found itself unable to finance troops to put down the rebellion; it was consequently put down by the Massachusetts State Militia under William Shepard, alongside a privately funded local militia led by former Continental Army officer Benjamin Lincoln. The widely-held view had already developed that the Articles of Confederation were untenable and needed amending, with the events of the rebellion serving as further evidence for the later Constitutional Convention. There is continuing debate among scholars as to what extent the rebellion influenced the later drafting and ratification of the Constitution.[7]

  1. ^ Minot, p. 150
  2. ^ Richards, Leonard L. (2002). Shays's Rebellion. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. doi:10.9783/9780812203196. ISBN 9780812203196.
  3. ^ "Shays' Rebellion [ushistory.org]". www.ushistory.org.
  4. ^ "Shays' Rebellion". June 20, 2023.
  5. ^ Zug, Charles U. (September 1, 2021). "Creating a Demagogue: The Political Origins of Daniel Shays's Erroneous Legacy in American Political History". American Political Thought. 10 (4): 601–628. doi:10.1086/716687. ISSN 2161-1580. S2CID 243849281.
  6. ^ Zug, Charles U. (2022). Demagogues in American Politics. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-765194-0.
  7. ^ Richards, Leonard (2003). Shays's Rebellion: The American Revolution's Final Battle. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 978-0-8122-1870-1.