Tiffany Rodriguez

History 1700, E-Portfolio

August 3, 2014
Jessica Feveryear

Shays Rebellion
In 1780 Massachusetts farmers were suffering from high debts while trying to start new
farms. Other state legislatures were passing pro-debtor laws that forgave high debts and
printed more paper money to help with the debts. Unfortunately the state of Massachusetts
legislature was not doing this; because individual states could maintain order in their own
territories and they decided not to. Instead upper house legislature was looking into
safeguarding their own investments and seizing farms from those who could not pay their
debts; and putting them in prison. In the summer of 1786 the farmers demanded the release of
the imprisoned farmers, when that did not happen about 2,000 farmers armed themselves and
were lead into a complete revolt by Daniel Shays; who was a former captain in the Continental
Army during the Revolution. Many people saw the Shaysites as threatening and dangerous.
Others fighting for the same rights saw them as Heros. In the fall of 1786 when the rebels shut
down the courts, not allowing creditors from seizing farms; and they marched on the federal
arsenal at Springfield. The governor of Massachusetts James Bowdoin sent military force to put
an end to the rebels march, and they quickly fell apart when they were confronted by the state
military. However even though the rebels were defeated, there was still alarm among the
Massachusetts conservatives and residents. This lead to other similar rebellions in Maine, New
York, Pennsylvania, and few other states.
Conservatives that were alarmed by Shays rebellion saw this as a consequence of the
Government by the people favoring drastic political, economic, and social reforms. Although
the rebels with Daniel Shay were no an impoverished crowd; in fact they were respectable
members of the Western communities, that wanted their property protected and they believed
that the government existed to provide that protection for them. Other states that also had
unhappy debtors were afraid of what the Massachusetts example would mean for the
Confederations future. Delegates from five states had already been meeting to revise the
Articles of Confederation; to instate a uniform system of commercial regulations.
I chose to write about this topic because I feel like it could have fallen under either of
the questions asked for the assignment. What is happening with the ranches the government is
trying take over due to the misunderstanding of property rights Whose land is it really? Does
it belong to the government to be ruled by the Bureau of Land Management? Or does it belong
to the people who have been on it for years; passing it down to generations and paying taxes so
their livestock can free graze; or where they grow the crops you and I eat almost daily. If the
Government is allowed to seize private land; more and more farmers go out of business which
in turn raises the price of perishables and meat significantly. Its up to the Americans that will
take a stand against a corrupt government and take back what has been and should rightfully
be theirs.