But the creditors and tax collectors would take only hard cash. A few farmers had been thrown in jail for failure to pay their debts. We were afraid that when the Court of Common Pleas in Worcester opened again, more would follow. There was one hope. We organized a county convention to prepare a petition asking the legislature for help. Some wanted to take stronger action. As one farmer proclaimed, "I have lost a great deal THIRD : There is a shortage of cash money, and farm goods are not accepted as payment for debts and taxes.
As the day for the opening of the court in Worcester approached, we still had not heard anything from the legislature. So we had a town meeting in Hubbardston to decide what to do. We read a letter sent around the county calling for us to follow the example of the farmers of Hampshire County and march to the court. If we could prevent the court from opening, none of us could go to jail for being in debt. Some citizens at the meeting cautioned that this would be an act of rebellion, even treason.
In the end, most of us decided to march. About of us from several towns paraded into Worcester on September 5, court day. Armed with muskets and clubs, we took up a position outside the courthouse. We were determined to allow no judge to pass.
After a while we could see Sheriff Greenleaf leading the judges towards the courthouse. One of them, Judge Ward, advanced until the bayonets were pressing against his large stomach. The door opened, but he could see more men with muskets inside. Judge Ward then asked, "Who commands these people? Still no reply. We were stunned.
In truth we never organized ourselves into any military unit with proper officers. There will be no court until they have redress of their grievances.
Only a rainstorm ended his oration. His final words to us were, "May the sun never shine on rebellion in Massachusetts! We all went home. Back in Hubbardston, we still waited for a reply from the legislature to our county convention petition. At last, in October, we heard from the state legislature. It finally passed a law that allowed our farm goods as payment for taxes, but the representatives in Boston addressed none of our other grievances. Instead, the legislature and Governor Bowdoin passed a Riot Act.
They also authorized sheriffs to put those who marched against the courts into jail without charge. On November 21, we marched once more to the courthouse in Worcester when Judge Ward again tried to start the court session. In our hats we wore sprigs of hemlock--the sign of our cause throughout the state. Chief Justice William Whiting of the Berkshire County Court was a wealthy conservative who publicly spoke out in favor of the rebellion, accusing the wealthy state legislatures of making money off the impoverished farmers and claiming the farmers were obligated to disrupt government in response.
Legendary patriot Samuel Adams , however, called for the execution of the rebellious farmers. The Massachusetts legislature offered leniency and flexibility to those with tax burdens. Amnesty was also offered to the rebels if they disavowed the efforts to close the courts. The farmers were expected to take oaths of allegiance to the state government. However, a bill was passed excusing sheriffs from responsibility if they killed any insurgents and declaring harsh punishments for rebels in custody.
Soon after, the legislature suspended the writ of habeas corpus for a period of time. Another bill prescribed the death penalty for militiamen who took part in the protests. The situation continued to escalate. In December , a militia assaulted a farmer and his family in Groton, arresting and crippling the farmer, which further fanned the flames of the insurrection. In January , Governor Bowdoin hired his own army, privately funded by Boston businessmen.
Some 4, men under the command of General Benjamin Lincoln were directed to put down the insurgency. Shays and other leaders made plans to raid the federal arsenal in Springfield to procure weapons. On the snow-covered morning of January 25, , 1, men approached the arsenal. Some men had guns, while some carried clubs and pitchforks. General Shepard predicted the assault and was waiting at the arsenal.
Shepard believed the insurgents planned to overthrow the government. Two other groups of insurgents traveled to join Shays. Another rebellion leader, Luke Day, who had ridden to Quebec with Benedict Arnold in , would head from the north with men.
Eli Parsons would lead men from the Berkshires. As they approached the arsenal, shots were fired at Shays and his men. The first two were warning shots over their heads, but further shots left two rebels dead and 20 wounded. The rest retreated to Chicopee, sending a message back to Shepard demanding the dead for burial. Shays and his men fled to Petersham.
Lincoln followed, causing them to scatter. Shays then led a force of about 1, men in an attempted raid of the Springfield armory on January 26, The group was intercepted on the day before its planned attack; four protestors died in a brief conflict with the militia and the group dispersed.
It had to rely on a state militia led by General Benjamin Lincoln and sponsored by private business people. In excerpt one Lincoln explores his thoughts on the responsibilities of government in times of popular unrest, and in excerpt two he explains the critical importance of justice tempered with mercy. Original spellings have been retained. The lesson includes interactive exercises to help students understand vocabulary in context and review the text, and an optional follow-up assignment encourages students to explore the issue of compulsory voting.
This lesson is divided into two parts, both accessible below. In the United States was only three years old, and the economies of the new states were in turmoil. Although many states were able to recover from the Depression of , Massachusetts, whose state economy was based on maritime trade focused around her eastern ports, was especially hard hit.
After the Revolution, Britain restricted trade with the US, and countries were skeptical about the strength of American paper currency. Foreign nations demanded economic exchange in hard currency gold and silver coin , and the eastern merchants of Massachusetts scrambled to comply.
In addition, Massachusetts charged high taxes, payable only in coin, to its citizens to help pay its large Revolutionary War debt. Farmers in central and western Massachusetts resisted, as many were in debt, having borrowed to purchase their farms. Since these farmers rarely saw coin, generally using barter for economic exchange, many lost their farms or faced jail time for failure to pay their taxes. The rebels called themselves Regulators, committed to regulating the excesses of the government, and to give the movement validity they used many of the same strategies the colonists had used against the British 13 years earlier.
Daniel Shays — , farmer and former Continental Army captain, rose as the leader of the rebels. Even though the Shaysites saw themselves as reformers representing the voice of the people and with a direct connection to the patriots of the Revolution, the Governor and others saw them as dangerous radicals, challenging the new and still fragile government. In this lesson General Lincoln comments on the punishment given to the rebels. He speaks of the Disqualification Act, passed by the Massachusetts Legislature in February, , that outlined the conditions under which most men could obtain a pardon.
Men were required to surrender their guns and take an oath of allegiance, at which time their names would be sent to the clerks in their home towns. They lost their rights of citizenship — they could not serve as jurors, become a member of the town or state government, or enter certain professions school master, inn-keeper, or tavern keeper for three years.
They also lost the right to vote in town elections, and if they broke any of these rules, they would forfeit their pardons. What happened to the Shaysites? Most of them were pardoned; eighteen men were condemned to hang, but only two were actually executed.
Shays himself escaped to Vermont, was later pardoned, and died in New York in Governor Bowdoin was defeated in the election of , and the new legislature cut taxes and stopped foreclosures. In this passage, divided into four excerpts, you will hear General Lincoln speak of the role of government in times of unrest and argue that the strict punishments by Massachusetts — especially the loss of the right to vote — will have unintended negative consequences.
Benjamin Lincoln begins this excerpt by describing current times. What has occurred in the recent past which has disturbed the community? A rebellion has occurred which for a period of time was not contained. Who was involved in this event? How closely did it affect individuals? Neighbors turned against neighbors, even fathers and sons turned against each other.
In this type of uprising, what does Lincoln say the government may do?
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