How an uprising of debtors and small farmers unwittingly influenced
the U.S. Constitution.
Throughout the late summer and fall of 1786, farmers in central and
western Massachusetts organized themselves into armed groups to protest
against established authority and aggressive creditors. Calling
themselves "regulators" or the "voice of the people," these crowds
attempted to pressure the state government to lower taxes and provide
relief to debtors by using some of the same methods employed against
British authority a decade earlier. From the perspective of men of
wealth and station, these farmers threatened the foundations of society:
property rights and their protection in courts and legislature.
In this concise and compelling account of the uprising that came to be
known as Shays's Rebellion, Sean Condon describes the economic
difficulties facing both private citizens and public officials in newly
independent Massachusetts. He explains the state government policy that
precipitated the farmers' revolt, details the machinery of tax and debt
collection in the 1780s, and provides readers with a vivid example of
how the establishment of a republican form of government shifted the
boundaries of dissent and organized protest.
Underscoring both the fragility and the resilience of government
authority in the nascent republic, the uprising and its aftermath had
repercussions far beyond western Massachusetts; ultimately, it shaped
the framing and ratification of the U.S. Constitution, which in turn
ushered in a new, stronger, and property-friendly federal government. A
masterful telling of a complicated story, Shays's Rebellion is aimed
at scholars and students of American history.
