American Studies
Mr. Carlson
Shays' Rebellion
The American Revolution ended in 1783,
but the young nation it created faced a
difficult time. Nowhere was this more
evident than to the people of Western
Massachusetts where a severe economic
depression made life difficult for farmers
living in this part of New England. The
depression forced people who were unable
to pay their debts into court where many
judges ruled they must come up with the
money to pay their debts or be thrown into
jail. The farmers blamed their troubles on
the wealthy, mercantile (business class)
elite of Eastern Massachusetts, especially
Boston, who demanded hard currency to
pay foreign creditors. The farmers of
Western Massachusetts, after years of
frustration, reacted with an armed uprising
that lasted for six months at the end of 1786
and start of 1787.
The Rebellion started with petitions to the
government for paper currency, lower
taxes, and judicial reform. When this failed,
the farmers took more drastic measures.
The first target of the Rebellion was the
Court of Common Pleas at Northampton, Massachusetts. At this courthouse, in late
August of 1786, an armed group of farmers kept from the judge from taking his
position behind bench. Similar groups of rebels stormed the courts at Worcester,
Concord, Taunton, and Great Barrington in the following weeks. They hoped to
prevent further trials and imprisonment of people who could not repay their debts.
The man who rose to lead these bands of rebels was
Captain Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Revolutionary
War and a farmer from Pelham, Massachusetts. In
late September of 1786, The Supreme Judicial Court
charged Shays and eleven other leaders with sedition
(rebellion or disobedience of the law) and more
charges followed. In response to these accusations,
Shays and 1,500 followers, many wearing their old
Continental Army uniforms, gathered outside the
Springfield Courthouse on September 25 and forced
the court to adjourn. For the next 4 days, Shays'
rebels occupied the courthouse to keep the Supreme
American Studies
Mr. Carlson
Judicial Court from sitting. If the judge could not hold court, then he could not have a
trial to convict Shays and his followers. On December 26, 1786 Shays assembled
1,200 men near Worcester, Massachusetts and headed toward the Federal Arsenal in
Springfield in order to secure guns and ammunition. This action prompted
Massachusetts Governor James Bowdoin to assemble 4,400 militiamen under the
command of General Benjamin Lincoln to defend the courts and protect the state of
Massachusetts.
One month later, in late January of 1787,
Shays, with 2,000 farmers behind him, arrived
in Springfield and proceeded with an assault
on the arsenal. General William Shepard
successfully defended the arsenal with 1,200
local militiamen. The rebels suffered four dead
and twenty wounded in the attack. General
Lincoln soon arrived in Springfield with
reinforcements and quickly chased Shays'
army into the neighboring towns. The rebels
were taken completely by surprise on the
morning of February 3 in Petersham,
Massachusetts. General Lincoln had marched
his troops through a snowstorm the previous
night in order to mount the attack on the rebels.
The farmers scattered, and the rebellion was ended. Most of the rebels took
advantage of a general amnesty (pardon) and surrendered. Shays and a few
other leaders escaped for a while.
The Supreme Judicial Court soon sentenced fourteen of the rebellion's leaders,
including Shays, to death for treason. They were later pardoned by the newly elected
Governor John Hancock. Only two men, John Bly and Charles Rose of Berkshire
County, were hung for their part in the Rebellion. A new Massachusetts legislature in
Boston began to undertake the slow work of reforming the problems that caused the
rebellion in the first place.
That summer, the Federal Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia struggled to
create a stronger central government that would "establish justice and insure domestic
tranquility." Shays' Rebellion is considered the one of the leading causes in the
formation of the United States Constitution.
Thomas Jefferson, Letter to James Madison, from Paris, Jan. 30, 1787
"I hold it that a little rebellion now and then is a good thing, and as necessary in the
political world as storms in the physical. Unsuccessful rebellions, indeed, generally
establish the encroachments on the rights of the people which have produced them. An
observation of this truth should render honest republican governors so mild in their
punishment of rebellions as not to discourage them too much. It is a medicine necessary
for the sound health of the government."
American Studies
Mr. Carlson
Name _____________________________ Period _____
George Washington, Letter to James Madison, Nov. 5, 1786
"Let us look to our National character, and to things beyond the present period. No Morn
ever dawned more favorable than ours did-and no day was ever more clouded than the
present! Wisdom, & good examples are necessary at this time to rescue the political
machine from the impending storm."
Chief Justice William Cushing, Supreme Judicial Court, in the Hampshire Gazette,
June 6, 1787
"[I fear] evil minded persons, leaders of the insurgents...[waging war] against the
Commonwealth, to bring the whole government and all the good people of this state, if
not continent, under absolute command and subjugation to one or two ignorant,
unprincipled, bankrupt, desperate individuals."
Discussion Questions
Why is Shays’ Rebellion considered one of the leading causes in the formation of the
United States Constitution?
Recall Thomas Jefferson's quote from his letter to James Madison when he states, “a
little rebellion now and then is a good thing… It is a medicine necessary for the sound
health of the government"? Why does he think a "little rebellion now and then" is a
good thing? How is it "medicine" for the government?
Adapted from, Supreme Judicial Court Historical Society
Written by Stephen C. O'Neill, Copyright ©1998.