Shays's Rebellion: The American Revolution's Final Battle

by Leonard L. Richards

Book Overview

During the bitter winter of 1786-87, Daniel Shays, a modest farmer and Revolutionary War veteran, and his compatriot Luke Day led an unsuccessful armed rebellion against the state of Massachusetts. Their desperate struggle was fueled by the injustice of a regressive tax system and a conservative state government that seemed no better than British colonial rule. But despite the immediate failure of this local call-to-arms in the Massachusetts countryside,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812218701
• ISBN13: 9780812218701
• Release Date: August 2003
• Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press
• Length: 216 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.9" x 8.9"

Customer Reviews

Taxes, Taxes, Taxes

Good book about something my US history teacher failed to mention or did not dwell on. This book is a must buy for those interested in the founding of this country,and a historical perspective of tax and monetary policy.

Six stars!!

Richards' book on the Shays's Rebellion (or the "Regulation", as the rebels referred to it) is absolutely first rate. Six stars! During the course of other research in the Massachusetts state archives, Richards came across a list of 4000 people who, upon participating in and losing the Shays Rebellion, had signed an oath of loyalty to the state of Massachusetts in order to be given clemency. Apparently, this list was in barely legible handwriting and had never been translated. The amazing breakthrough came when Richards decided to take this list, decipher the names, and find out who all the participants were, person by person. What he produces is a tremendously revealing and much more accurate account of the rebellion. Through what must have been months of painstaking, dogged research Richards attempts to prove that we, today, have many misconceptions about the rebellion. Particularly, Richards makes a point that the rebels were more upset by very understandable abuses by the Boston-centered Massachusetts state government than by poverty. He also shows that the most important factor in recruiting rebels was their clan association. People joined almost exclusively as part of a clan, and this explains why some towns had widespread participation and others had minimal. He does a great job of fleshing out who the leaders and opponents were. A true local history project. Richards also does a nice job of relating how the rebellion fit in with the national movement to form a stronger union among the states. This occurred in Philadelphia the next year at the Constitutional Convention. The rebellion played a very important part in our history that many today do not fully appreciate, and Richards does a fantastic job of putting it all together. Last, three things. One, after reading this book I have a much better understanding of why the rural parts of the new nation feared Hamilton and his drive to strengthen Federal control. I also have a much better understanding for Hamilton's genius. You will, too. Two, I think it helps tremendously that Richards himself is a history professor based in Amherst, Massachusetts, in the heart of Shays country. You get the feeling that telling this story accurately is a labor of love for Richards, close to his heart. And three, apparently the possessive form of Shays in all the places I've seen it written is spelled "Shays's". That's right, "s's". It seems wrong, but that's how professor Richards and everyone else spell it. Go figure.

Shay's Rebellion Revisited

Do you hold dear, the Constitution of the United States? If you do, then you can thank the farmers involved in the Shay's Rebellion. This pivotal piece of early American history has been revisited by Professor Leonard L. Richards of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, in his book SHAY'S REBELLION: THE AMERICAN REVOLUTIONS FINAL BATTLE, and has brilliantly clarified some of the misconceptions revolving around the event, particularly its cause. In previous popular belief, it has been widely held that the farmers revolted due to their being dragged into a global market, which forced them into debt. This rather simplistic view misses many crucial elements, to which Dr. Richards superbly lends enlightment. The principle causes ran much deeper than that. Primarily, the farmers were being overtaxed and forced to pay creditors at the benefit of Revolutionary War bondholders, who were typically, either members of the Massachusetts Legislature or closely related to someone who was. Ultimately, their revolt ended up helping in the ratification of the Constitution that we enjoy today. Richard's book also gives a slant contrary to popular thought, that the farmers of the Shay's Rebellion did in fact gain victory. Though they opposed the Constitution and their rebellion was squashed, it did result in substantial tax relief from the legislature. I was also delighted to find a cameo appearance in the book of Mumbet, aka Elizabeth Freeman, the slave who sued for her freedom. Upon the outcome of her successful lawsuit, all slaves in Massachusetts were emancipated. Her story appears in Richard's book for her part in protecting from the Regulators, the valuables of Theodore Sedgwick, for whom she worked and had also served as her legal counsel. At just over 200 pages, this is a quick and easy read, with no fluff added to fill more pages. Richard's writes succinctly and has done a brilliant job of shedding new light on the Shay's Rebellion. Monty Rainey www.juntosociety.com

Taxes, debts, shortages of legal tender, gov structure

The revolutionary war was won leaving America the victory and states burdened with the debt to pay for the war. War notes were issued by each state to pay military men for their service. Most of these men were farmers. Because legal tender was scarce, the men exchanged their notes for hard currency with speculators willing to pay cents on the dollar. In Massachusetts, these speculators were Boston merchants; merchants, who maintained a significant influence on the political machinery and helped, formulate tax policy requiring the citizen to pay tax money used to shed state debt and interesting the notes would be paid back at original issued value. In 1780, the notes debt were consolidated and 6 percent bonds secured against the debt and L265,000 paid to make good on the interest with the state making four installment payments. Consolidation worked to the advantage of the Boston merchants capitalized on incredible buying leverage gaining 1/40 depreciation value of the note, it was a bonanza for the speculators. One possibility explaining Shay's rebellion was the rebels were protest unfair tax policy. When the legislature decided to pay the original value of the note rather than the purchase price, the people of Massachusetts insisted they only receive the purchase value of the note. This cry went unheard as the state earmarked L1,250,000 for the holder, L270,000 for the holders of the original note; 80 percent of the state debt made it into the hands of the speculators, who were gambling on the future; 35 men held 40 percent of the state debt; the future did not look bleak because the new tax system benefited the speculators, by 1786 the increased tax burden impacted the farmer five to six times the preexisting tax burden providing the state a property tax and a poll tax on all male 16 year olds. The farmers wanted the state to provide more money for debt relief: the back country was in bad shape, creditors wanted the farmers to pay their debts with hard currency; the court systems had numerous layers and fees and the people felt that it needed restructuring and additionally they wanted the state constitution to be revised or a new constitution formed; the people questioned why there was a state senate claiming the existing senate was a bastion for the privileged of Boston and the political machinery being influence by the merchants to pay back the war debt. What were the laws of debt? The confession act of 1782 required debtors to go before a justice of the peace and acknowledge their debt and avoid court costs and 790 men made 4,000 confessions. In 1654, an outgrowth of the English Common law, Debtors could be arrested for debt: 1. confined to reveal hidden debt or force relatives to pay the debt 2. Seizure of the debtor's property 3. or liquidation at "auction" price rather than fair market value to generate hard currency. The creditor paid for the debtor's jail time. Farmers owning money got the screws as they were harass

A meticulous, thoroughly researched, deftly written study

Shay's Rebellion: The American Revolution's Final Battle by Leonard L. Richards (Professor of History, University of Massachusetts) provides a detailed and scholarly look at the farmer's revolt in 1786-87 that drew General George Washington out of retirement, and ultimately forced the Articles of Confederation of a fledgling nation to be scrapped in exchange for what was to become the American Constitution. A meticulous, thoroughly researched, deftly written study of a pivotal point in American political and military history, Shays's Rebellion is very highly recommended reading for students and scholars of American History.