Shays’s Rebellion was a revolt by debtor farmers and their families that took place in Massachusetts in 1786 and 1787. Many of the farmers faced imprisonment or loss of their property because they could not pay their debts. The rebels also protested taxes and court fees imposed by the state. The revolt was part of widespread discontent among small property owners and farmers after the Revolutionary War ended in 1783.
Shays’s Rebellion was named for Daniel Shays, a leader of the revolt. Shays had served in the American Revolution, and after 1780 he held political offices in Pelham, Massachusetts. Shays’s sympathy for his fellow farmers led him to take part in their protests. In August 1786, the unrest began to grow into revolt. Late that year, armed groups forcibly closed courts in Concord, Great Barrington, Springfield, Worcester, and other towns. In January 1787, an army led by Shays marched on the U.S. arsenal at Springfield but was forced to retreat. It was defeated decisively in February by Massachusetts troops under General Benjamin Lincoln. Scattered raids by the rebels continued until June.
In May 1787, John Hancock was elected governor of Massachusetts. Under Hancock, the state legislature pardoned nearly all the rebels. It also enacted laws to reduce court fees and provide some relief for debtors.
Fears aroused nationally by Shays’s Rebellion intensified support for strengthening the federal government, and thus helped lead to the replacement of the Articles of Confederation, the nation’s basic law, with the Constitution of the United States. In Massachusetts, however, disapproval of the treatment of the rebels and their sympathizers nearly prevented ratification of the Constitution by that state.
