Shay's Rebellion: Protest Around 1786 To 1787

Daniel Shays led a rebellion after the U.S. went into economic depression. This caused the Massachusetts government to seize several farms and sell them to re-gain profits. Shays led a mob of 1,000 enraged Massachusetts farmers to get weaponry from a state warehouse in August 1786. The rebellion was a fail because Shays and other fellow comrades were arrested. All in all, Daniel Shays led a rebellion because many farmers plots of land were taken and sold for profit.

Last night on February 4, 1787, General Benjamin Lincoln attacked members of the Shays’ Rebellion, and successfully captured 150 of the rebels. As a result, Daniel Shays left Massachusetts and fled to Vermont. Shays Rebellion was an armed rebellion consisting of 1,200 angry farmers from Massachusetts. They caused major chaos in this state. On December 26, 1786 Daniel Shays and the rebels revolted in Springfield, Massachusetts insisting that the state legislature address their issues, such as lack of money.

That paragraph stating, "In the wake of Shays Rebellion...many among the 'rich and well-born' agreed with Washington that the nation was tottering. The time had come to empower the national government to bring social order and economic stability." From the way this narrative is presented, George Washington wanted to put more power in the hands of the central government with the people of the nation standing with

The articles of confederation, shays rebellion, and the U.S. constitution are all related to each other in a certain way. The articles of confederation were approved by the congress then ratified by the states. It was an attempt to unite the new country and form a government. Shays rebellion revealed the article’s weaknesses. It showed that the country had economic difficulties and couldn’t raise an army.

Shays Rebellion served as the final nail in the coffin for the Articles of Confederation. Although the Articles of Confederation was America's first national document, it came with many weaknesses. One of the major weaknesses was that the federal government was too weak and therefore could not enforce laws. The Continental Congress borrowed money to fight in both the Revolutionary War and the French and Indian War therefore were in debt.

Farmers in the Shay’s Rebellion were treated unfairly . Although the farmers in Shay’s Rebellion were considered reckless rebels, nevertheless they should be recognized as freedom fighters because they fought for things to be fair, they protested for people’s rights to be better, and they fought for what they thought was right. First of all, the farmers fought for things to be fair because many things were not fair to them and to others . According to class notes, “Farmers were losing land and going to jail,” this shows that they were treated unfairly and they were getting punished for doing nothing.

Additionally, Shay and other farmers caused chaos in the country. For example, Thomas Jefferson had sstated in Document C, that anarchy exists ¨in the single instance of Shayś Rebellion.¨ (Document C, Thomas Jefferson) In other words, Shay and his followers were the only cause of any disorder in the US. Not only did Thomas Jefferson see the mayhem Shayś Rebellion had caused, but Abigail Adams could see it too. According to Document B, Shay and his followers were described as a ¨mob of rebels wants to weaken the foundation of our country, and destroy the whole fabric of our nation.¨ (Document B, Abigail Adams) Shayś Rebellion was motivated by a desire to destroy the country and consequently, chaos ensued.

Shay’s Rebellion “What country before ever existed without a rebellion?” a quote from Jefferson in document C. Throughout the history of the United States many conflicts and protests have occurred. One of these was Shay’s rebellion and it was caused by the government not paying war veterans their money after fighting in the war. This made the protesters threaten the court that they are going to raid the armory and many people consider them rebels for this. Although many people thought the farmers or war veterans were rebels, nevertheless they are truly freedom fighters because they stood up for what was right, kept the government aware of needs, and were not treated fairly.

The significance of Shays' Rebellion on the drafting of the United States Constitution may be observed in its impact on public opinion, role in influencing constitutional discussions, and potential to shape future public policy (CrashCourse, 2013). The lessons acquired through Shays' Rebellion acted as a wake-up call to the Founding Fathers, resulting in a stronger central government with greater authority to defend individual rights and liberties for all Americans. For example, one of the biggest flaws in the Article of Confederations was its inability to collect taxes, so the founding fathers found it necessary to create a document that would allow governments to raise funds to protect the interests of individuals (CrashCourse,

The notion that the government rules all have been repeatedly overturned throughout history. Every time a government oppresses its citizens, someone who feels the discontent of the people will arise. Whether they are seen as heroes or rebels is ultimately the public’s opinion. While heroes and rebels both have a similar purpose, the people’s opinions on their actions make all the difference. One who goes with the people's beliefs to solve their discomfort ends up as the hero of the people.

The rebelliion petrified many Americans. The rebellion got very out of hand and caused “women to get stabbed by swords.” Along with “babies eyes being gouged out by swords,” as stated in the Shay’s Rebellion video.

Shay's Rebellion, the most prominent act of defiance toward federal authority, was a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers throughout the states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Massachusetts against state and local governments of tax collections. Due to bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes farmers faced the possibility of losing their farms. Although unsuccessful, the rebellion led by Daniel Shay, a former captain in the Continental army, alarmed politicians and ultimately called for a revision or replacement of the Articles of

Shay’s Rebellions follow the Revolutionary war and how the US fell into a economic crisis, There were a lot of tension due to farmers losing their property to to debt collectors. In January 1787, him and his force were sent to a federal armory at Springfield but it failed due the artillery fire and how it lead to 4 people being killed and 20 people being wounded. Rebellion doesn’t always end up peaceful and it can also show no improvement at.

This is because Shays rebellion took place because the poor farmers were fighting against the outrageous taxes which were leaving them without land and in prison with no means of supplying food for their families. In many states at the time if someone didn't have land they weren't able to vote because in the governments eyes they had no power. These taxes were taking away the farmers land which then also took away their right to vote which left them powerless and made their options pointless. Poor farmers ended up in jail which left their families out on the streets begging for money and a means to survive. Just like the whiskey rebellion farmers were left without a way to supply for their family because the demand of whiskey was way down after the government increase the tax by 25%.

Daniel Shays, an american soldier and farmer organized over a thousand other farmers that followed him on a march to the Springfield Armory in attempt to prevent the Massachusetts Supreme Court from meeting. Even though Shays was defeated by the militia, the rebellion made it known that state and national governments could not stop violence from happening. An immediate effect of this rebellion was the Annapolis Convention. Shays’ Rebellion lead to the Annapolis Convention because a change needed to be made to the Articles to reduce sectional and political violence in America. While Shays’ Rebellion was not successful in its original purpose, it made the framers aware that a change needed to be made in order to further improve the