Daniel Shay's Rebellion Research Paper

Shay’s rebellion was led by a man named Daniel Shay in 1787. This was an historic event that shaped history in its own way. This uprising began in Massachusetts in the year of 1786. Daniel shay was characterized and labeled as a rebel, traitor, and a coward. He was also considered a devoted nationalist and a decent military officer supporting America’s revolution. He dedicated over five years of his life in service of America`s government. He mobilized everyone who disagreed with his government’s actions during the time. Shay was able to lead a militia of over 2000 men. The militia was armed and willing and ready to burn down Boston. According to miller (71), Jefferson heard of the rebellion while in France but felt that it would not last long.

During the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries colonial America experienced a number of rebellions by various groups for a variety of reasons. The protests took place in Virginia, Maryland, Massachusetts, and New York. Each protest began for a different reason, however, all involved the discontent that some groups underwent in the colonies. Some of the most notable rebellions include Bacon's Rebellion, The Regulator Uprising, Leislor's Rebellion, Culpepper's Rebellion, and the Paxton Boys Uprising.

There were many rebellions in the United States history, some peaceful and some violent. Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 are examples of two brutal rebellions that led to death of many innocent people. Rebellions can develop due to many conditions including unfair laws, unfair treatment, and a disagreement over a sensitive topic. The Shays' Rebellion showed the Articles of Confederation was too weak, while the Whiskey Rebellion proved the Constitution to be a strong framework of government.

The actions of the members of the Shay’s Rebellion were justified because state officials took their land, to pay their own debt. Shay’s Rebellion was a fight against government control. The country after the Revolutionary War was severely damaged especially in the trade market. The British cut off trades in the West Indies market crippling the economy. Due to the poor economy the farmers had difficulty selling their products and being able to pay the money requested to the government to pay off their war debts. This enabled the states to take the farmers’ land to pay the state's debts. Shay’s Rebellion, although dangerous the rebellion wanted to force the government to making their own money and create new policies in order to pay off the

After reading an excerpt from Daniel Gray’s verbalization, I accede that Shays “Rebellion” was a fight for liberation. First of all, one of the reasons the people decided to revolt is the money from taxes wasn’t used to pay off the peregrine debt. In document A, the text states, “Instead it is being used to pay off investments that are held by wealthy

There are many reasons why the American colonist decided to rebel. One cause is the British Parliament. They started The Stamp Act and The Sugar Act. They made and raised taxes on sugar and on every printed piece of paper such as stamps, licenses, newspapers and even playing cards. Another reason they rebelled is the French and Indian war. This war lasted from 1754 to 1763. Colonists were taxed to help pay for the troops fighting in the war.The taxes were often raised and colonists were angry because of this. The last reason of why the colonist rebelled is the Boston Massacre. The British were angered by the taxes from the government so they decided to protest and a battle broke out and several people were shot and killed.

8. Shay’s Rebellion- farmers in the central part of Massachusetts with the leader Daniel Shays seized the armory in Springfield, Massachusetts before the state militia put down the rebellion and executed several of the conspirators. Exposed the weakness of the American government under the old “articles of confederation” added urgency to the meeting in Philadelphia to replace articles with constitution. A bunch of farmers put a threat on government. See whiskey Rebellion 1794, the government was stronger with the constitution.

The Whiskey Rebellion showed the government that the people would rise up against the government if they felt it was needed. While not really a bad thing, it did lead to fears of an incident like the French Revolution occurring in the United States.

“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing” (Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson wrote these words in a letter to James Madison after hearing about Shay’s Rebellion while he was a foreign diplomat in Paris. After the rebellion happened, the “Shaysites” as they were called, were labeled as traitors to their country and the democratic form of government. But were they really? Many of the men fighting in the rebellion felt that they were being oppressed just as they had been under British rule.

In 1786, Shay’s Rebellion had sparked due to the national governments policies that resulted from the post-war economic depression. Again, the national government failed to handle the situation effectively due to its lack of abilities. Fortunately, a group of merchants from Massachusetts was able to raise an army to put down the

1. Compare and contrast the Whiskey rebellion to Shays rebellion. How would the differing results inform a historian of the power of the Federal Government in comparison to the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution? (page 187).

Shays’ Rebellion was an armed uprising of farmers in Massachusetts from 1786 to1787. Farmers in Massachusetts rebelled against the United States government. This occurred because several farmers incurred high debts from creditors, that they could not afford to pay off. Farmers also suffered from high taxes, that the government imposed in attempt to pay off debt from the Revolutionary War. Massachusetts did not respond to farmers asking for help, so the rebellion transpired.

The Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 and the Shay’s Rebellion in 1786 were rebellions protests against the nefarious government. Although the uprising may be separated apart by a couple of years, they did have some similarities and differences. Both the Whiskey Rebellion and the Shay’s Rebellion, demonstrated the difficulties the farmers had to face and what the government came to realize. However, the way both situations were handled in diverse ways and what the government did to the farmers was different. First of all, the Whiskey Rebellion and the Shay’s Rebellion were akin in many ways.

Daniel Shays was a former officer in the Continental Army (Schultz, 2009). After the war, the economy took a turn for the worse, especially the farmers. The farmers’ income had fallen dramatically due and they were at risk of losing their farms, as well as going to jail for failure to pay their debts. In Massachusetts, a tax increase caused additional worries for the farmers. Some small towns in Massachusetts pleaded with the assembly regarding the taxes and lawsuits. However, their request were declined resulting in protests from the people which resulted in Shays Rebellion. He led a group of 1200 male protestors to the federal arsenal anticipating seizing control and cause the government to address the debt issues.

The farmers did not have many slaves to help them as the elite planters did. The profit of growing tobacco kept decreasing while taxes were increasing. Due to the excessive taxation during a bad economy, the yeoman farmers were upset with the imperial.