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This Day in Boston History
January 25th, 1787

Shays Rebellion Rebuffed

On this day, Daniel Shays a former Revolutionary Army captain, led 2,000 rebels to Springfield to storm the arsenal. Government forces of 1200 soldiers led by General Shepard quelled the uprising.

The rebellion was fueled by grossly unfair debt laws, poor economic conditions and politicians which disregarded western Massachusetts. Offended by this inequity, farmers and working people retook the arms and in some cases the uniforms they had used fighting for freedom from England.

Fourteen of the insurrection's leaders would be sentenced to hang for treason. Most were later pardoned by the newly elected Governor John Hancock. Shays Rebellion is considered a primary reason why the founding fathers went on to establish a strong central government in the U.S. Constitution.


		England's Prime Minister never expected this tea tax to cause an outcry, let alone revolution. In 1767, England reduced its property taxes at home. To balance the national budget they needed to find a mechanism for the American colonies to pay for the expense of stationing officials in them. The officials would generate their own revenue by collecting taxes on all imported goods, and once paid affixing stamps on them. This Stamp Tax generated more in the way of protests and smuggling than added revenue.		Religion. Politics. Rebellion. Boston’s pedigree was forged back in England in the midst of religious dissension, where Puritans and Pilgrims sought religious reform, and Cavaliers and Roundheads vied for political power. The question isn't where did Boston get its name – but how.

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