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 kwn as Shays's Rebellion, Sean Condon describes the ecomic 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.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press
ISBN-10
1421417421
ISBN-13
9781421417424
eBay Product ID (ePID)
214355797
Product Key Features
Author
SEAN Condon
Format
Hardback
Language
English
Subject
History: Textbooks & Study Guides
Type
Textbook
Dimensions
Weight
363g
Height
229mm
Width
152mm
Additional Product Features
Place of Publication
Baltimore, Md
Spine
18mm
Series Title
Witness to History
Content Note
6 Line Drawings, Black and White
Author Biography
SEAN Condon Is an Associate Professor and Chair of the History Department at Merrimack College.