With no means to move their crops and make money to pay off debts and taxes, Boston authorities began to arrest the farmers and foreclose on their farms.
Farmers first attempted peaceful means to settle their issues. Committees of town leaders drafted a document of grievances and proposed reforms, some considered radical, for the legislature in Boston to enact.
But other actions began to take place. In Northampton, Captain Joseph Hines led several hundred men to block judges from entering the courthouse. They were joined by a contingent from Amherst and several hundred more men from elsewhere. In Worcester, judges were blocked from holding court by crowds of hundreds of armed men. When the militia was called in, those men refused to answer, and many joined the crowd around the courthouse. Daniel Shays, for whom the rebellion was eventually named, was a farmer in Pelham and an ex-soldier who fought at Bunker Hill and other significant Revolution battles.
Shays became involved with the insurgents sometime in the summer of and had taken part in the Northampton action. He was offered a leadership position in August but refused. Soon, however, Shays was leading a sizable group and the eastern elite claimed he was the leader of the entire rebellion and potential dictator. But Shays was only one leader in the rebellion.
In September, Shays led a group of men to shut down the court in Springfield. Determined to use peaceful means, he negotiated with General William Shepard for the court to open while allowing protesters to parade. A concerned Henry Knox, an artillery commander during the Revolutionary war and the future first U.
Secretary of War, wrote to George Washington in to warn him about the rebels:. Their creed is that that the property of the United States has been protected from the confiscations of Britain by the joint exertions of all, and therefore ought to be the common property of all…Our government must be braced, changed, or altered to secure our lives and property.
We imagined that the mildness of our government and the virtue of the people were so correspondent, that we were not as other nations requiring brutal force to support the laws—But we find that we are men, actual men, possessing all the turbulent passions belonging to that animal and that we must have a government proper and adequate for him.
The insurgents found support in unexpected places. 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. Wookieepedia Explore. Star Wars. Clone Wars Droids Ewoks. Administrators' noticeboard IRC Discord.
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First Known Use of rebellion 14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1. Learn More About rebellion. Time Traveler for rebellion The first known use of rebellion was in the 14th century See more words from the same century. From the Editors at Merriam-Webster. Style: MLA. English Language Learners Definition of rebellion. Kids Definition of rebellion. Get Word of the Day daily email!
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