What Was The Cause Of Shays Rebellion?

“With regards to the riots in my home state, which you asked me about: I wish I could say that people exaggerated them.”. Shays' Rebellion was a protest in Massachusetts( 1786- 1787) led by Daniel Shays and his followers protesting economic and civil rights for the lower classes. They attempted to seize weapons and overthrow the government by showing up to courthouses with the weapons to free people like them, from the court . Although many historians think that the farmers were reckless rebels, nevertheless the farmers were freedom fighters because the government was unlawful, law enforcement had too much power, and Shays’ followers were standing up for themselves since no one was listening to them.

To begin with, Shays and his followers were freedom fighters because the government was unlawful to farmers. According to Abigail Adams, the farmers were being treated “differently” because they had to pay taxes, which they couldn't afford unlike the wealthy who had a lot of money. The lower class was unable to pay taxes, even if they had their own land/property and participated in the war. According to Daniel Gray, instead of helping out the farmers who risked their lives during war, the money from taxes made the rich get richer. Based on the evidence presented the followers of Shay were freedom fighters because they were being treated unfairly compared to the wealthy just because they didn’t have as much as money.
According to Daniel Gray, law enforcement had too much power due to the Riot Act. Basically the Riot Act gives unlimited power to peacekeepers and the law is if there are 12 protesters police are allowed to shoot. The actions of law enforcement can be motivated by their own thoughts and beliefs about a certain person. Based on what Gray stated, peacekeepers had too much power in their hands, which they took advantage