Shays' Rebellion

An armed uprising of farmers in western Massachusetts against the state government, Shays' Rebellion constituted a major challenge to the framework of government established by the Articles of Confederation. To many national political leaders, the rebellion highlighted the weaknesses and ineffectiveness of the confederation government and provided the justification for calling a Constitutional Convention in 1787 aimed at the creation of a stronger national government.

Shays' Rebellion frequently has been interpreted as a class conflict between creditor merchants and indebted farmers. This conflict also encompassed regional divisions between the eastern political and commercial establishment and the western farmers. During the period of economic uncertainty that followed the American Revolution, western Massachusetts was being increasingly brought into a commercial economic framework. There was also a severe shortage of gold and silver specie and high rates of both personal and public debt. Thus, there was not enough money in circulation to cover the commercial needs of local communities. These economic problems affected many farmers negatively, as they suffered from foreclosures on their property and even imprisonment due to the failure to pay their debts.

At first, the farmers of western Massachusetts held town meetings and formed conventions to protest the economic policies of the state government that favored eastern merchants. They sent petitions to the General Court of Massachusetts asking for debt and tax relief and for paper money, but these requests were ignored. Although there were sporadic bursts of violence against tax collectors and the courts, early resistance was largely peaceful and legal. Then, in the summer of 1786, farmers led by Daniel Shays, a [Page 1281]Revolutionary War veteran, forced the closing of courts in several counties of western Massachusetts (Berkshire, Hampshire, Middlesex, and Worcester) to prevent the collection of debts.

The political elite in Boston reacted harshly to the outbreak of armed rebellion. Unable to call on the state militia or to secure military assistance from the confederation government to suppress the uprising, Governor James Bowdoin organized a private army to break the rebellion. Over the course of early 1787, the Shaysites were defeated in several skirmishes with the government troops led by General Benjamin Lincoln.

By summer 1787, Daniel Shays had fled to Vermont and the rebellion had been broken. Despite the defeat of the Shaysites, the rebellion alarmed many leaders in national politics who feared further disorder and the dissolution of the American republic. Ultimately, Shays' Rebellion displayed to many national leaders the urgency of creating a stronger and more centralized national government and, thus, led to the ratification of a new Constitution in 1788.