Shays’ Rebellion

Daniel Shays’ Honorable Rebellion

March 27, 2022 by Editorial Staff Leave a Comment

The book Daniel Shays’s Honorable Rebellion: An American Story (Westholme Publishing, 2021) by Daniel Bullen looks back to January 25th, 1787, in Springfield, Massachusetts, when militia Major General William Shepard ordered his cannon to fire grapeshot at a peaceful demonstration of 1,200 farmers approaching the federal arsenal.

The shots killed four and wounded twenty, marking the climax of five months of civil disobedience in Massachusetts, where farmers challenged the state’s authority to seize their farms for flagrantly unjust taxes. [Read more…] about Daniel Shays’ Honorable Rebellion

Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York

November 28, 2021 by James S. Kaplan 5 Comments

Every year in October the Lower Manhattan Historical Society holds its Saratoga/Yorktown celebration in Trinity Churchyard to celebrate the American victories at the Battles of Saratoga and Yorktown.

At that ceremony wreaths are lain on the graves of Revolutionary War figures associated with those battles — Horatio Gates, Alexander Hamilton and Marinus Willett. [Read more…] about Marinus Willet, Tammany Hall & The Treaty of New York

Understanding Shays’ Rebellion

June 29, 2016 by Liz Covart Leave a Comment

After achieving independence from Great Britain, the new United States and its member states had to pay war debts. As the national government lacked the power to tax its citizens, the problem of paying war debts fell to the states.

Many states tried to solve the post-war debt problem by paying state debts before national debts. But Massachusetts tried to pay both. Its strategy created hardship for many Bay Staters and ultimately sparked a rebellion.

In this episode of the Ben Franklin’s World podcast, Sean Condon, a Professor of History at Merrimack College, joins us to investigate the rebellion, which we remember today as Shays’ Rebellion. You can listen to the podcast here: www.benfranklinsworld.com/087