What caused Shays' Rebellion?

Answer 1

Shays' Rebellion (1786) was an uprising by farmers against foreclosure on their farms.

With the continuing money shortage from the Revolutionary War, many farmers could not earn enough to pay their debts and taxes. In Massachusetts, judges ordered farmers to sell their land and livestock to pay off their debts. Led by Daniel Shays, a hero of the Battle of Bunker Hill, Massachusetts farmers rebelled. In 1786, Shays and his followers closed down courthouses to keep judges from taking their farms. Then they marched on the national arsenal at Springfield to seize the weapons stored there. Having disbanded the Continental army, Congress was unable to stop them. A privately funded militia was able to keep the arms secured by routing Shays' forces.

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It was precipitated by several factors: financial difficulties brought about by a post-war economic depression, and harsh government policies instituted in 1785 to solve the state's debt problems. Farmers feared the loss of their crops, livestock, and farms to foreclosure. Protesters, including many war veterans, shut down county courts in the later months of 1786 to stop the judicial hearings for tax and debt collection.

The Problems of the Early US Government

Shays' Rebellion took place in Western Massachusetts in the period 1786-1787. It was caused by the small farmers in the area reacting angrily to crushing debt and heavy taxation. The huge war debt of the American government trickled down to the farmers by way of a head tax, which meant that small farmers with large families had to pay more than rich merchants with smaller families. Failure to pay could lead to loss of lands or to imprisonment.

Daniel Shays, a veteran of the Continental Army and Day organized armed mobs and threatened the legislature and the courts. They attacked the Springfield armory, but were driven off, and the failure of that attack (and the arrival of Massachusetts militia reinforcements) led to the collapse of the Rebellion.

The results of the rebellion were calls for more effective central government, and this helped lead to the discarding of the Articles of Confederation in favor of the stronger US Constitution. Shay's Rebellion was caused by a group of rebels who were angry by the money issues, who attempted to overthrow the government.
foreclosures
Taxes required of poor farmers