Preview

What Were The Causes Of Daniel Shay's Rebellion

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
867 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Were The Causes Of Daniel Shay's Rebellion
Name
Professor
Course
Date
Shay`s Rebellion
The 1787 rebellion was led by Daniel shay. He was not much literate, but he portrayed charismatic character. The “who`s who” of the day had been labeled a rebel, traitor, and coward. However, those allegations were nothing but distant from the truth. He was a devoted nationalist, and a decent military officer supporting America’s devolution. He had devoted over five years of his life in service of America`s government. In addition, besides devoting his life to a patriotic course, he owned little property under his name and was also an accused person in a lawsuit. He mobilized oppressed citizens, both poor farmers and middle class town folks, who disagreed with the government’s actions during the
…show more content…

Voters expressed distaste in government`s actions by developing preference for new leaders. In 1787, Governor Bowdoin lost elections to John Hancock, whom he had defeated in all previous contentions. The people were determined to get rid of every element of oppressive governance.
Sherriff Greenleaf was on the state`s side. He held official capacity in Lancaster and employed all possible resources, with the sole objective of monitoring how people related to the rebellion and stopping growth of the militia group. The rebellion created a situation where General Lincoln rejoined America`s political scene. His contributions were in support of America`s
…show more content…

The government could not survive without extensive external funding let alone subsidizing public projects. They found that salvation could be achieved by demanding a tax increase. According to smith (6), the taxation levels were not ethical. The government tried to exploit farmers and casual laborers, however; their efforts did not make much difference as such persons initially made less money than tax demands. Therefore; the taxman made demands but did not receive equitable monies. Consequently, persons who failed to comply lost property and others were prosecuted in court.
Government also owed to soldier. A currency circulation mess, where circulation did not match national wealth was not corrected by government. This led to further escalation of the already unpleasant situation. Crops did very well; farmers brought much harvest from the farms but attracted low market prices. Most farmers did not meet their tax obligations and soon lost rights to continue farming on their land.
The labor industry was also in a chaotic situation. Few jobs were available for grab. What`s more, wages attached to such were not enough to get by on. Technology was not advanced and manufacturing did not take


You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Daniel Shaye was a poor farmhand from Massachusetts when the Revolution broke out. He joined the Continental Army where he fought at Lexington, Bunker Hill, and Saratoga, and was eventually wounded in action. In 1780, he resigned from the army unpaid and went home to find himself in court for the nonpayment of debts. He soon found that he was not alone in being unable to pay his debts, and once even saw a sick woman who had her bed taken out from under her because she was also unable to pay. He started to get very angry about the country's actions. The rebellion started on August 29, 1786, and by January 1787, over one thousand Shaysites had been arrested. A militia that had been raised as a private army defeated an attack on the federal Springfield…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    '...where we do well know that all our causes will be impartially heard and equally justice administered to all men,' as stated by, Nathaniel Bacon. 1 In 1676 an uprising known as Bacon's Rebellion occurred in Virginia. The immediate cause of this revolt was the dissension between the planters and the Indians. Because Sir William Berkeley, the Governor of Virginia had willingly denied support to the farmers, Bacon assumed leadership of an unauthorized expedition against the Indians. When Bacon learned that Governor Berkeley was rising a force against him, he turned away from the Indians to fight with Berkley. This had now become a serious problem for the governor. When news of this revolt had reached King Charles II, it alarmed him so that he dispatched eleven hundred troops to Virginia, recalled his governor, and appointed a commission to determine the causes of the dissatisfaction. Bacon's Rebellion is considered to be the most important event in the establishment of democracy in colonial America because the right to vote and social equality were denied to the farmers by the local government.…

    • 751 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Charles Beard’s article, Framing the Constitution, alleges the members of the Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia were “disinterested” in providing basic rights for citizens. He stated that the framers of the Constitution of the United States were only concerned in improving their own economic well–being and personal agendas. Therefore, providing information of the events that led up to the Philadelphia Convention and an overview of the Constitution will dismiss his statements, and state his article was a self-serving, conspiracy theory.…

    • 780 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    “Yet where does this anarchy exist? Where did it ever exist except in the single instance of Shays’ rebellion?” Shays Rebellion was a period of time where farmers stole arms from the government and forcefully took over large areas of land. They rebelled because they were being put in jail for being unable to pay off their taxes. Although many will argue that Shays and his followers were freedom fighters, nevertheless they were irresponsible rebels because they were led under false ideas, many saw them as violent criminals, and they were put in this situation by fault of their own.…

    • 590 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, when a U.S. marshal arrived in western…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The main reason for this was that there were more people affected by the capitalism that needed help rather than the people having the skills for helping others. The labor conditions were poor because there were no opportunities for the poor to work, and if they could get an opportunity then there were not fair wages available. It can be considered as there was a major overhaul in the Economic system of the United States which did not let people to be working in an effective manner and living a prompt…

    • 1129 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Shay's Rebellion

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Shays' Rebellion was a chain of protest by American farmers from New Hampshire to South Carolina against local and state enforcement of law and tax enforcement. The rebellion was named after Danial Shay of Massachusetts, a formal Continental army captain. Starting in 1786 in Massachusetts, Shay's rebellion was caused by political corruption, harsh tax collection and enforcement, and the unfair economic policies. Because of all of the unfair policies, taxations, and corruption, Shay decided that enough was enough. Danial Shay led four thousand rebels to the national weapons arsenal at Springfield. Ultimately in 1787, the rebellion was broken up by a militia, ending Shays' Rebellion and the four thousand men who were in the rebellion with Danial Shay was convicted and sentenced to death. Because of the rebellion, many national leaders, including George Washington, were called for a stronger national government to put a halt to any other rebellions in the future, thus resulting in the Constitutional…

    • 853 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    American federalism offers a solution to fears that the people will only be ruled by majorities from different regions that contained different interests and values. In the past America was run by the Articles of Confederation but it was not strong enough to hold the nation together. Under the loose Articles of Confederation, the national and state government was unable to maintain order. After the Revolution, Americans mounted debt from purchasing goods from other countries. To solve this problem the states would tax their citizens and this caused many people to go into bankruptcy. When Shay’s Rebellion happened people started realizing that by having a less powerful national government, it created many problems within the states and it also demonstrated the importance to maintain domestic order. The framers of the constitution created a federal government that replaced the weak confederation with a more powerful national government.…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The lackluster response to the Annapolis meeting might have been repeated the following spring, but for the violence that erupted in Massachusetts over the fall and winter. To Hamilton, Shays' Rebellion was the direct and inevitable result of the weak national government. The attempt by Massachusetts to pay off its war debts on its own had resulted in a crushing tax burden, especially for farmers unable to produce the required gold or silver currency. The consequence, in Hamilton's mind, was predictable: lawless mobs, assaults on property, and anarchy.…

    • 353 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    bacon

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Bacon’s Rebellion was a result of many different factors. It started with the fact that land was becoming scarce in Virginia because much of it was owned by the rich tidewater planters. When an indentured servant was freed, he was usually given freedom dues by his master, which usually included a small plot of land. As land became less and less available, this practice disappeared. Most of the Baconites were frustrated freemen who had not been given land when they were freed and so had to push west into the frontiers of Virginia. This inevitably led to conflict with the Native Americans. Native American attacks on the frontier settlements led to a petition by the frontiersmen for a commission from the governor to protect them. The governor refused because he made money trading with the Native Americans, infuriating the colonists. All of these frustrations led these frontiersmen to rebel. The governor’s actions justified the Baconites revolt against him. He refused to protect the Baconites from the Indians because he did not want to ruin his trade with them. Even though this was what was really going on, he told the Virginians that the Native Americans had only been nice to the colonists, which was false. Because the government was unwilling to protect the governed, it was the right of the Baconites to rebel. This rebellion foreshadowed the American Revolutionary War in that it was a revolt against an unpopular government. In both of these situations, the ruling body that was rebelled against was seen as incapable of performing its office correctly by those that it governed.…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    For hundreds of years, there have been many reasons for citizens to feel like they were being taken advantage of by their government. The biggest source of these exploited feelings seems to be taxes. Now, when citizens feel like they are taken advantage of, there seems to be 2 ways that they deal with it: they accept it and pay their taxes, or they get angry until the whispers of rebellion are heard ‘round the country. A great example of a rebellion caused by taxes was the Whiskey Rebellion. This rebellion led to the people’s wary of the power of the federal government. Although not known my many people, the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 had intense effects on the history of the United States including the importance of the federal government.…

    • 721 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Critical Period

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages

    An event that had a tremendous impact during the Critical Period was Shays’ Rebellion. The leader of the rebellion was a farmer by the name of Daniel Shays. He and many other farmers were victims of high debt as they were trying to start new farms in Western Massachusetts. The rebels wanted the Massachusetts government to pass a law that would forgive any debts that they had and print more paper money that would help debt stay down. In response to the rebellion, Thomas Jefferson stated that “a little rebellion now and then is a good thing”.…

    • 636 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Many people think rebellions are a bad thing. Those people probably do not know that there were three rebellions that would change America for the better. The three rebellions happened in three key states/colonies. Shays’ Rebellion was in Massachusetts, the Whiskey Rebellion was in Pennsylvania and Bacon’ Rebellion was in the colony of Virginia. The most important rebellion was Shays’ Rebellion because it gave this country the need for a stronger central government.…

    • 608 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Slaughter is a very interesting author who does not write like many of his peers on historic topics. Throughout the whole book, Slaughter does not give his own opinions on what happened during the Whiskey Rebellion, but rather, he gives non biased facts to present both arguments through primary and secondary sources. His book describes the actions that led up to the rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794 and how certain actions led to responses by both the people and the government. In the beginning of the book, Slaughter writes about how this Rebellion was over a federal tax on whiskey that was an idea from the Secretary of the Treasury, who at this time was Alexander Hamilton. Slaughter says that the tax was designed to retire the national debt and was approved by Congress and supported by President George Washington. In the book, Slaughter takes the time at the introduction to explain all the underlying causes of this national argument and gives a detailed explanation of why some citizens thought the tax was acceptable while others believed it was abusive.…

    • 640 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    disputes over the states, and the people felt as though the states power was tyrannical. The…

    • 1152 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays