|
The Shays
Rebellion
Monty Rainey
01/16/2003
Revised 03/10/2006 The Shays Rebellion of western Massachusetts began in the summer of 1786 and lasted till the malcontents were defeated by an army sanctioned, but not directly financed by the state or federal government, in February, 1787. Dismal economic conditions caused many small farmers to call for
un-sponsored, extra-legal county conventions. While the delegations lacked a legal basis for political action, they were able to articulate their neighbors' grievances and draft a petition that they forwarded by petition to the General Assembly of Massachusetts. Their primary concern was
relief from taxes and the creditors that seemed unwilling work with the farmers during the hard times.
An undemocratic state constitution had been rushed through the state
Congress in 1780, that levied punishing taxes for the benefit of the
speculators who had bought up the state's Revolutionary War bonds. A
mere 35 men held 40% of the bonds, all of which were either members of
the state legislature or closely related to someone who was.
When a letter calling for "thrift, virtue, and patience was sent by the Assembly in response to their complaints" a few of the more radical farmers became incensed and began using violence as a form of protest. Armed mobs of various sizes started attacking and closing down the Courts of Common Pleas. Throughout the western counties, these actions were preventing the government from prosecuting for non-payment of debt.
For the rest of the summer, the Massachusetts Legislature continued to ignore the pleas from the frontier and it adjourned in September without acting. Although they were disappointed by Boston's failure to deflate the conflict, moderate leadership implored for calm. By this time though, most of the farmers already believed only revolt could provide relief. As the yeomen metamorphosed into rebels, violent insurrection expanded throughout the western frontier. They began to attack the merchants, who they were indebted to, often pillaging their stores. Alarmed by the rapid outbreak of violence, both the Massachusetts Assembly and the Confederation Congress voted to raise an army to confront the
Shaysites, but both failed to allocate the necessary funds. Boston merchants disappointed by the government's failure to act, and fearing that an escalation of the conflict would endanger the city, raised required money for an army.
The winter of 1787 began with the privately financed government army--under the command of former revolutionary war general Benjamin Lincoln-moving west to confront the rebels. Upon the news of the government's mobilization, the rebels realized an armed confrontation was inevitable and began organizing themselves into militia units. They drilled for battle and prepared to met Lincoln's army. I need of weapons and supplies, the
Shaysites planned an attack on the Confederation arsenal at Springfield, Massachusetts. On January 23, 1500 yeoman, mechanics and farm laborers rallied on the outskirts of the city and prepared their assault on the arsenal. After capturing some local merchants and sequestering supplies from their warehouses, the ragtag army approached the arsenal and demanded its surrender.
In an effort to avoid the blood that would be shed in the event of an attack, the commander of the local militia unit garrisoned at the arsenal-General William Shepard-sent his aids to warn the rebels that the armory would be vigorously defended and, if attacked, they would use their cannon to defend themselves. Not to be deterred, and fully prepared to die, the
Shaysites disregarded the warning and proceeded towards the garrison. Still hoping to avoid a bloody confrontation, Shepard ordered the soldiers inside the garrison to fire warning shots over the heads of the attackers. But when that failed, the militia aimed their artillery on the attackers. Loaded with grapeshot, the first and last volley from the huge guns killed four of the insurgents and wounded another twenty.
Ascertaining that the arsenal would indeed be strongly defended, and not willing to risk further loss of life in an all-out assault, the rebels retreated to nearby towns. The defeat at the arsenal would be the only large-scale military operation attempted by Shays' rebels. The arrival of Lincoln's army to pursue the rebels led to a sneak attack by government forces on February 4, at Petersham. The rebel camp was caught off-guard and most of the remaining insurgents scattered into the surrounding countryside.
This battle virtually ended the rebellion. Many of the rebels fled to other states. Daniel Shays himself escaped to Vermont. Others remained to harass merchants, but by the spring most of them had been caught and imprisoned. Upon the election of a new State Assembly and Governor, the remaining
Shaysites laid down their weapons hoping the gesture would bring them more favorable treatment from Boston. The new government eventually proved to be more negligent and vengeful than the previous one but by that time, the remaining
Shaysites were too tired to fight, and many of the financial problems for resistance were minified by an economic upturn in 1788 that eased the credit situation.
Thus, the Shays' Rebellion ended. The rebels were defeated and state unity was saved but the memories of the rebellion would continue to haunt both the eastern elite and the insurgents. Repeatedly the residents of the western counties of
Massachusetts, who no longer believed the elite in Boston to be morally
virtuous, would fight for their rights through politics. The Rebellion
did, however, achieve a certain level of victory for the farmers as it
did result in greatly needed tax relief from the legislature.
Monty
Rainey
For further reading on Shay's Rebellion, I highly
recommend;
|
