American History Tellers - Rebellion in the Early Republic - A Constitution Shaped by Revolt | 2

Episode Date: March 25, 2020

Tensions reached a climax in the freezing winter of 1787, as Daniel Shays and 1,500 rebel soldiers stormed the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts. The rebels hoped to seize arms and ammunition and burn Boston to the ground. What they didn’t know was that a government army awaited them, setting off a dogged chase in the winter snow that lasted weeks.The farmers’ revolt reverberated far beyond Massachusetts. Shays’s Rebellion stunned America’s political elite, even drawing a horrified George Washington out of retirement to return to public life. The uprising helped convince the nation’s power brokers to throw out the Articles of Confederation and devise a new Constitution. They were determined to create a strong federal government, one that they hoped could withstand domestic rebellion. But their efforts sparked a bitter dispute about the role of government in the new Republic.Support us by supporting our sponsors!See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Wondery Plus subscribers can binge new seasons of American History Tellers early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Imagine it's the late afternoon of January 25th, 1787, at the local federal armory in Springfield, Massachusetts. You're freezing, and the winter light is fading fast. Your breath is still ragged after helping haul two cannons into position. You're a student back east, not a soldier. You've never seen battle before. But today, you're standing alongside 1,200 militiamen. There's a quiet suspense in the air.

Rebel forces are on their way, and they have no idea there's an army waiting for them. You catch some movement on the horizon and turn to the soldier next to you, an experienced gunner who mans the cannon. You see that? There's got to be more than a thousand of them, maybe 1,500. The gunner turns to you and smirks. That's already looking bunch? No, they're no match for us. Look at them stumbling in the snow. I don't know. What are you,

one of the Boston recruits? Guess with all your books, you haven't learned much about battle, have you? You shrug and look back at the rebels, who've stopped a hundred yards away. They're getting closer. Yeah, but look, some of them are only carrying sticks. Gosh, no wonder they want to capture the armor. An aide to General Shepard rides halfway across the field to face the rebel ranks. He cries out a warning, but you can't really hear. What did he say? He said, if they advance, we're going to fire. But from across the field, you can hear the rebel commander's answer. He's laughing and then orders the rebels to advance. General Shepard, standing near your line of soldiers, issues his orders.

Position the cannons to fire over their heads. The gunner turns to you. Come on, come on, charge the cannon. Hurry up, they're moving. He primes the cannon while you ram the powder and ball down the muzzle. Now, get out of the way. You crouch beside the cannon, your heart pounding in your chest. General Shepard yells,

Fire! Some of the rebels duck their heads, and a few even fall from their horses. But the warning shot isn't enough. The rebels keep advancing. As you try to sponge out the barrel of your cannon, your hands fumble. What is taking you so long? It's cold. My fingers are stiff. General Shepard gives new orders. Aim the cannons into their ranks. Load the howitzer with grapeshot. Come on, come on. Time to reload. Quickly now. I know, I know. I got it. Once again, you insert the powder

and ram it in, shoving hay and the grapeshot into the muzzle. Primed. Fire! The cannonballs tear into the advancing column. More than a dozen rounds of grapeshot spray through the ranks. The combined barrage is too much for the rebels. When the smoke clears, you can see blood staining the snow-covered ground. Maybe 20 are wounded. You think three or four are dead. The rebels fall back in panic and confusion. You thought the bloodshed

had ended with the revolution. You thought you'd never have to don a uniform. You were wrong. You were here to stop the unimaginable. A rebel army marching on a new nation that some of them had just fought for. All you can do is hope that the bloodshed will be worth it, that it will finally put an end to this chaos and save your young nation from the threat of collapse. Hey, this is Nick. And this is Jack. And we just launched a brand new podcast called The Best Idea Yet. You may have heard of it.

It's all about the untold origin stories of the products you're obsessed with. Listen to The Best Idea Yet on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. I'm Saatchi Cole. And I'm Sarah Hagee. And we're the hosts of Scamfluencers, a weekly podcast from Wondery that takes you along the twists and turns of the most infamous scams of all time, the impact on victims, and what's left once the facade falls away. Follow Scamfluencers on the Wondery app or wherever you get your podcasts. From Wondery, I'm Lindsey Graham, and this is American History Tellers. Our history, your story.

The rebels' desperate attack on the federal arsenal in Springfield, Massachusetts, marked the climax of escalating tensions. For months, Massachusetts farmers had been rising up in protest against the state government. They felt their livelihood was being destroyed by draconian taxes, and so far their calls for reform had fallen on deaf ears. For them, nothing less than their freedom was at stake. But for state leaders, order and the rule of law seemed to be in danger. The uprising, known as Shays' Rebellion, would come to a violent end, but not before influencing the creation of the U.S. Constitution and leaving a lasting mark on the debate over

the strength and role of the federal government. This is Episode 2, A Constitution Shaped by Revolt. In the fall of 1786, the Massachusetts state government handed down legislation designed to punish rebel farmers. The new laws included a riot act and the suspension of habeas corpus, the right of the accused to be brought before a judge before being detained. The farmers were horrified. They became more convinced than ever before that the state government was corrupt, calling these new powers dangerous if not absolutely destructive to a Republican government. And the legislation hardened their resolve to take radical action to defend their freedom. For many, the suspension of habeas corpus marked the difference between liberty and tyranny. It guaranteed that the accused could fight their detention and face charges in a court of law. In Massachusetts, the suspension of this basic right allowed

government-backed raids on the homes of prominent rebels. In late November 1786, 300 mounted soldiers rode from Cambridge to the homes of three rebel leaders in Groton—Jobe Shattuck, Oliver Parker, and Benjamin Page. These three had been singled out by a Groton town leader who was loyal to the state government. The local official had written Governor Bowden, naming these men as dangerous persons, needing arrest for stirring up the people to oppose government. State authorities thought if they arrested key leaders, the protests might die down. Shattuck was the authority's chief target, but he didn't fit a rebel stereotype. He was the largest landowner in Groton, and at age 50, he commanded the respect

of his neighbors for his distinguished service in both the French and Indian War and the Revolution. But Shattuck had long been a staunch defender of individual rights against government injustice. Back in 1781, he organized his neighbors to resist a silver tax the state levied on his town. His age, experience, and stature made him an influential rebel leader, and therefore one of the government's top enemies. When the militia didn't find Shattuck at home, they followed his tracks in the fresh snow and confronted him on the banks of the Nashua River. Shattuck resisted his captors, wrestling with one man, but was outnumbered. Another man slashed him across the knee with a sword, tearing through cartilage and ligaments.

Shattuck was then loaded in a sleigh and hauled off to Boston, where he was locked up in a jail alongside the two other men, Oliver Parker and Benjamin Page. The three men would languish there for months, a fact that enraged fellow rebels. Rumors spread through the countryside that Shattuck had been killed or died of wounds in jail, and that the cavalry had attacked two women and an infant. These reports, and growing anger over the suspension of habeas corpus, had farmers directing their rage at Governor Bowdoin, who seemed no better than a British tyrant to them. One farmer declared, the seeds of war are now sown. Still in late 1786, most of the farmers were not demanding war against the government. They continued to pressure lawmakers by shutting

down local courts. The farmers called themselves regulators because they hoped to regulate the state government by pressing for reform, like reducing taxes, more fairly distributing the tax burden, allowing for paper money, and reforming the courts. In late December of that year, 300 rebels converged on Springfield to force the court to close. Governor Bowdoin was stunned and alarmed by the strength and reach of the rebellion. The rebels had marched on Springfield from every direction, and the local sheriff was taken by surprise. Bowdoin became determined to shore up the state's defenses. And a few days later, Governor Bowdoin issued the call for a private army.

For many farmers, including those who had so far resisted outright rebellion, this was the final straw. Fear of a standing army was widespread in rural Massachusetts. The regulators believed this army, commanded by General Benjamin Lincoln, would seize their lands and divide them up among Boston speculators, reducing the farmers to wage labor or even slavery. These fears led farmers to believe that the Massachusetts government to be as unsympathetic to their needs as Great Britain had been. So by January 1787, the rebels

were at their breaking point. They began planning a detailed assault against the state government, and the number of men who were willing to take up arms swelled. First, the regulators divided western and central Massachusetts into four areas. In each area, a rebel leader organized a committee to travel through the countryside to recruit followers and form military regiments. In their next step, the regulators decided to storm the federal arsenal in Springfield. The armory had been established a decade earlier to supply troops for the Revolutionary War, and it housed most of New England's military weapons, including 7,000 muskets and 1,300 barrels of powder. Control of the armory would give the regulators more fire power than the state had. And if they seized the arsenal, the regulators planned to march on Boston

and plunder the city before burning it to the ground. They would finally topple the state government they had felt had oppressed them for too long. In January, the assault began. Farmers flocked to Springfield and neighboring Northampton, where they raided the stores of local shopkeepers, kidnapping them in some cases, because these rural store owners were the ones who had dragged the farmers into court for unpaid debts in the first place. To feed the rebel army, the regulators seized grain, beef, and pork. Then they turned their attention to the arsenal. They planned to storm it from three directions. Berkshire militants would descend from the north, Worcester and Middlesex yeomen

would attack from the northeast, and Hampshire farmers would come from the west. But their plans for a surprise onslaught were doomed. Rebel leader Lute Day sent a note to his fellow rebels announcing that the Springfield assault would be delayed a day from January 25th to the 26th, but the regulators commanded by Shays never received the message because General Shepard's men intercepted it. Meanwhile, Shays continued with the plans for the 25th. At four o'clock that afternoon, his 1,500 regulators approached the arsenal, marching through four feet of snow. But 1,200 militiamen, commanded by General Shepard, had gotten there first. They armed themselves with the weapons inside and began readying the cannons. As the regulators approached

the arsenal, General Shepard issued a warning, but the rebels refused to yield. The state militia fired two cannons, warning shots over their heads, but the rebels continued to advance. So the militiamen fired more than a dozen rounds of grapeshot, anti-personnel munitions, right into their ranks. When the smoke cleared, four rebels lay dead and 20 were wounded. The rest retreated to nearby towns. But even if the message hadn't been intercepted, the regulators' chances of victory were wounded. The rest retreated to nearby towns. But even if the message hadn't been intercepted, the Regulators' chances of victory were slim. They were simply outmatched. Most rebels carried old muskets, some only had swords or sticks. And so with their defeat at the Springfield Arsenal, the Regulators suffered a major setback.

Still, they refused to back down. The next day, they regrouped in Amherst. Shays remained confident, at least outwardly. He knew the army commanded by General Benjamin Lincoln would come after the regulators, but he told followers he wasn't worried about a bunch of shopkeepers and lawyers who filled the ranks of the government-backed militia. And so the rebels marched from Amherst to Petersam, raiding Hampshire County stores and attacking shopkeepers along the way. Imagine it's February 1787. It's the middle of the night and bitterly cold.

You can't feel your fingers or toes. You're standing guard outside the door of an inn in New Braintree, Massachusetts. Inside are two shopkeepers you and other rebels have taken hostage. It's been a week since you watched your friends get gunned down by government fire at the Springfield Arsenal. The last few days have been relentless. You've been hunted like dogs, but you refuse to back down. Neither, it seems, will the hostages. They've been yammering all night, begging to be let free. One of them bangs on the indoor, trying to get your attention again. Please, please, I beg you, let us go. You don't have to do this.

Oh, shut up. Do you think I ever imagined I'd kidnap anyone? The government let it come to this, raising an army against us. But I'm not the government. I'm just a poor shopkeeper from Worcester. Where are you from? Shrewsbury. See? See, we're practically neighbors. If you would all just lay down your weapons, I'm sure we could find common ground. Yeah, I doubt it. You people are the ones who got us into this mess, hauling us into court for the smallest of debts. And violence and kidnapping is the answer?

You know violence isn't the answer, and you feel a pang of remorse. But there were weeks of peaceful protest, months of attempts to settle this another way. But the government would not yield. And nor are they yielding now. Because emerging from the forest around the inn are government soldiers, maybe three times as many as there are of you. Your commander barks orders. You three, form a picket guard ahead. The rest of you, get back behind the fences.

You crane your neck up over the fence and see the militia rushing toward you. It's now or never. So you leave the inn with the hostages behind and run toward the fence. Your commander is waiting. On my count, men. Three, two, one. Through the chaos and smoke just outside the tree line, you see two bodies lying in the snow. The rest of the government troops scatter and flee.

You've not seen much combat and find yourself wondering aloud, Is that it? It's over? Very likely not, son, but we're not going to wait around to find out. Follow me. You and the other men stumble into the woods behind your commander, sparing a glance over your shoulder at the bodies on the ground. You're almost positive one of them is the county sheriff. His arm spasms violently. But you have to keep going.

You and the other rebels tear through the trees, heading north to Petersham. You can only imagine the onslaught that waits you there, though. You know General Benjamin Lincoln won't let you get away with this. General Benjamin Lincoln had served as Washington's second-in-command at Yorktown. He believed the Massachusetts rebels were lazy, dishonest, and insane, and warned Washington that they were plunging the state into anarchy. Whereas men like Shays valued personal freedom above all else, Lincoln was absolutely dedicated to maintaining order.

He had written a stern letter to the rebels a few days before the skirmish at the inn. Demanding their surrender, addressing Shays and his fellow leaders, he wrote, Your resources are few, your force is inconsiderable, and hourly decreasing. You cannot hesitate a moment to disband your deluded followers. But the rebels refused to submit. So now Lincoln crafted a plan that he hoped would finally end the insurrection. On the night of February 3rd, he sent 3,000 troops on a 30-mile trek to Petersham, where he hoped to take the rebels by surprise. Halfway through the march, though, the weather abruptly changed, and the soldiers found themselves trudging through a violent snowstorm. The snow pounded against the soldiers in powerful whirls and eddies,

soaking their uniforms and chilling the men to the bone. Half of them suffered frostbite as they slogged through thigh-high snowfall. But despite their suffering, the government soldiers had the upper hand when they reached Petersham on the morning of February 4th. The rebels were stunned. They didn't expect the soldiers to march on a Sunday, least of all in the middle of a blizzard. In the ensuing conflict, the rebels were no match for Lincoln's artillery.

After just 30 minutes, the rebels abandoned Petersham and fled into the countryside. Fleeing with them was Lincoln's prize target, the rebel leader Daniel Chase. Back in Boston, state leaders moved quickly to quash the uprising once and for all. The day after General Lincoln routed the regulators at Petersham, the state government branded the revolt unnatural, unprovoked, and wicked. They gave Governor Bowdoin nearly absolute authority to crush the rebellion, including the power to enact martial law. Lawmakers also passed measures to raise an additional 2,600 troops. They passed

other laws, too. Harsh new legislation aimed at convincing the rebels to surrender. Under the Disqualification Act, ordinary rank-and-file rebels were offered a chance to escape prosecution if they gave up their arms, admitted they had rebelled against the state and its leaders, took an oath of allegiance, and paid a nine-pence fine. They were then to be banned from serving on juries, holding public office, or voting for civil or military officers for three years. And on top of that, lawmakers barred rebels from employment as schoolmasters, innkeepers, or liquor retailers, believing schools and bars were hotbeds of discontent. Surprising for a man dedicated to the rule of law,

General Benjamin Lincoln thought this disqualification act went too far. To him, the law seemed a violation of Republican principles and everything the American Revolution had been fought for. Though he despised the radical actions of the rebel farmers, he feared the consequences of further alienating them. But Massachusetts leaders were determined to use every measure at their disposal to squash the rebellion, because still, the rebels continued to forge ahead. Regulators in Berkshire County remained as defiant as ever. One observer reported that rebels there said they'd rather die on the field than submit to the government army. In mid-February, rebel leader E. Lee Parsons urged followers to defy the new legislation.

In a letter circulated among the rebel ranks, he asked, Will you now tamely suffer your arms to be taken from you, your estates to be confiscated, and even swear to support a constitution and form of government which common sense and your consciences declare to be iniquitous and cruel? He implored followers to assert their rights by destroying General Lincoln's army, lest they be cut to pieces by the cruel and merciless tools of tyrannical power. So with the rebels not backing down, General Lincoln's dogged pursuit continued through the rest of February, even as his ranks thinned. Enlistments expired on the 21st of that month, and almost all of Lincoln's men had gone

home after slogging through the Petersham March, and few replacements had arrived. But the rebels, even on the run, showed no signs of backing down. The bloodiest battle of the rebellion was still to come. In the Pacific Ocean, halfway between Peru and New Zealand, lies a tiny volcanic island. It's a little-known British territory called Pitcairn, and it harboured a deep, dark scandal. There wouldn't be a girl on Pitcairn once they reached the age of 10 that would still a virgin. It just happens to all of us.

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Wondery Plus. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I'm Tristan Redmond, and as a journalist, I've never believed in ghosts. But when I discovered that my wife's great-grandmother was murdered in the house next door to where I grew up, I started wondering about the inexplicable things that happened in my childhood bedroom. When I tried to find out more, I discovered that someone who slept in my room after me, someone I'd never met, was visited by the ghost of a faceless woman. So I started digging into the murder in my wife's family, and I unearthed family secrets nobody could have imagined. Ghost Story won Best Documentary Podcast at the 2024 Ambies and is a Best True Crime Nominee at the British Podcast Awards 2024. Ghost Story is now the first ever Apple Podcast Series Essential.

Each month, Apple Podcast editors spotlight one series that has captivated listeners with masterful storytelling, creative excellence, and a unique creative voice and vision. To recognize Ghost Story being chosen as the first series essential, Wondery has made it ad-free for a limited time, only on Apple Podcasts. If you haven't listened yet, head over to Apple Podcasts to hear for yourself. After the regulators suffered crushing defeats at the Springfield Armory and Petersham, most abandoned plans to overtake Boston. Instead, they fled to their homes or went into hiding. Many rebels sought asylum in Vermont, which was then an independent territory.

Daniel Shays reached Vermont by February 7th, along with other rebel leaders. Another 2,000 regulators arrived there by the end of March. Vermont had pledged to remain neutral rather than turn the regulators over to the authorities. Its leader, Ethan Allen, saw Shea's rebellion through the lens of Vermont's own struggle against land claims by neighboring New York. He called the Massachusetts government a pack of damned rascals. But not all rebels fled to Vermont. Some remained in Massachusetts, and skirmishes continued. On the morning of February 27, more than 100 farmers marched into Berkshire County, promising death to prominent retailers and professionals.

In Stockbridge, one of the largest commercial centers in Berkshire County, the rebels ransacked the homes of professionals and merchants, taking 32 men hostage in a local tavern. Next, the rebels moved on to Great Barrington with their prisoners in tow. There, they kidnapped another 19 shopkeepers and professionals. And as a final measure, they broke into the county jail and released debtors from their cells. Word of the assaults and kidnappings reached Colonel John Ashley, a landholder who had assembled a militia of 80 men in a nearby town. On the evening of February 27th, Ashley led his troops to Sheffield,

where they found the regulators and their captives. The two sides exchanged fire, and just six minutes later, four men lay dead and 30 were wounded. It was the bloodiest battle of Shea's Rebellion. The pressure was mounting on the rebels, and their efforts grew more desperate. They ransacked homes and stores and targeted political and military leaders. In early April, a force of 120 rebels set their sights on the government's top commander, General Benjamin Lincoln. They tried to capture the general in New York while he was enjoying hot springs in New Lebanon.

He got word of the imminent attack, however, and fled just 10 minutes before their arrival. Another group of rebels targeted General Shepard, who had led government troops against them in the devastating loss at the Springfield Armory. Nine regulators attacked his home, burning his fences and surrounding woodland, and mutilating and killing his horses. The general himself, though, wasn't home. It wasn't until the end of spring 1787 that the raids finally died down, as the government rounded up and prosecuted the remaining rebels. Imagine it's March 1787. You're standing in a tavern in Greenfield, Massachusetts, alongside a dozen fellow rebels. Just a few weeks ago, you were marching on the Federal Army in Springfield. Now, you're preparing to take an oath of allegiance to this state, the very same state that suppressed

you, trampled on your rights, even shot at you. But after your capture, you know it's your only option if you want to avoid prison. Bardwell, you're next. The local justice of the peace calls your name, jarring you from your thoughts. You step out of line and approach the judge. Are you prepared to take the oath? You take a deep breath and nod your head. Yes, your honor. Then surrender your weapon and repeat after me. You reluctantly lay down your musket and begin reading out the oath of allegiance to the state. I sincerely declare that the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a free, sovereign, and independent state. And I swear that I will bear allegiance to said Commonwealth.

And that I will defend it against traitorous conspiracies and all hostile attempts whatsoever. Traitorous conspiracies? You can't help but think that if anyone had betrayed the spirit of the revolution, it's Massachusetts, first in using force against its own people, now in taking your weapon, not to mention your vote. But what choice do you have? You continue the pledge. I make this declaration heartily and truly, without any reservation whatsoever, so help me God. Thank you, sir, and the nine pence fee.

You stuff your hand in your pocket and place a few coins on the table. The justice signs a piece of parchment. Now, I need to remind you that you are forbidden from voting, running for office, or serving on juries for the next three years, and you will be disallowed from working in a school, tavern, or inn. Do you understand? You nod your head, take the parchment, and walk back to the line of rebels, feeling humiliated as you pass a table of smirking government soldiers. They look much too satisfied with themselves. Your head burns with anger. Your father is getting ready to retire soon, and you had hoped to take over the family tavern. You wonder what kind of

life is left for you, and what kind of government you've just vowed to defend. Run down and defeated, most of the rebels surrendered and faced the consequences of their failed uprising. The Disqualification Act passed by the Massachusetts legislature had outlined the terms for punishment. Some 4,000 men confessed wrongdoing and took the oath of allegiance to escape prosecution. While these rebels managed to avoid being whipped or hanged, they could still be sued for damages. Hundreds of rebels faced such lawsuits. One doctor in New Braintree, who had been shot in the knee, successfully sued nine men for damages. But the men that paid the most were the leaders of the rebellion. They didn't get the option of taking the oath. Daniel Shays, who was still holed up in Vermont, and eight other ringleaders were excluded by name from pardon. So were rebels who reneged on their oath of loyalty or who had shot at government

troops. Over the course of two months during the spring of 1787, the state's highest court moved from county to county trying the rebels. Ultimately, the state handed down several hundred indictments and 18 death sentences. Of the 18 men sentenced to death, only two were actually hanged, John Bly and Charles Rose, who had helped ransack several homes in Berkshire County. Bly, a 22-year-old tailor's apprentice, and Rose, an immigrant laborer, had few connections and little money, unable to escape their fate by paying for damages. The other 16 men spent months anticipating their executions, but were never actually hanged. State authorities were reluctant to make martyrs of the rebels. They worried that farmers would take up arms again in revenge if the executions were

actually carried out. And they had plenty of evidence about where public opinion fell on that front. After prominent rebel leader Job Shattuck was handed a death sentence, the state received scores of petitions calling for his release. Pardoning Shattuck seemed like the best way to avoid further bloodshed. And so the authorities staged elaborate displays of mercy. The rebels would be led to the gallows and fitted with nooses before the sheriff would reveal at the very last minute that they had been pardoned. Daniel Shays was eventually pardoned, too.

He had escaped to Vermont, where he was afforded protection by the governor there. But after his pardon in 1788, he returned to Massachusetts and later moved to New York, where he lived for nearly four more decades, dying in obscurity at age 78. The leniency shown to the rebels was driven partly by political changes afoot in Massachusetts. In statewide elections in April, the much-hated Governor Bowdoin lost by a three-to-one margin to John Hancock, who'd come out of retirement to run against him. Once governor, Hancock pushed to avoid executions in order to restore public him. Once governor, Hancock pushed to avoid executions in order to restore public harmony. And though the rebels lost on the battlefield, they gained a foothold in state politics. Massive numbers of legislators were swept out of office. About half of the incumbent state senators were ousted, and of the 203 House

members, only 77 were re-elected. This new government restored voting rights to the 4,000 regulators who had sworn allegiance to the state. It also eased farmers' financial burdens. In June, lawmakers institutionalized barter, something farmers had long asked for. Lawmakers also froze debt collection and cut the taxes that had disproportionately fallen on them, the farmers. Now, rural families could focus on paying off their debts and back taxes. An economic recovery helped matters, with Massachusetts running a trade surplus in 1787. But not all new measures favored the interests of farmers. Samuel Adams, a fierce critic of the rebels, won the Senate presidency,

while Boston lawyer James Warren was elected to be Speaker of the House. Under their leadership, the government refused to seat three rebels elected to be Speaker of the House. Under their leadership, the government refused to seat three rebels who had been elected to the House. Lawmakers also rejected a paper money proposal by a two-to-one margin. At the same time, Governor Hancock bolstered the state's military readiness, adding 800 new government soldiers. He wanted to arm the state against any potential resurgence of rebel militancy. But a resurgence was unlikely. After the rebellion died down, towns and villages in Massachusetts worked to restore community unity. Both former rebels and those that resisted them now tried

to repair relations. When one rebel in the town of Pelham was sentenced to execution, the entire community petitioned for his pardon. Even the pro-government sheriff wrote a moving letter on his behalf. In bringing Shea's Rebellion to an end, Massachusetts leaders had faced a choice. They could have crushed the rebels through a severe show of force with executions and strict legislation. This was the course that Sam Adams wanted. But most realized that leniency was the best way to rebuild the communal bonds that Republican government relied on. Still, the farmer uprising in Massachusetts would have far-ranging consequences for the country as a whole. The rebellion may have ended,

but the bitter fight over a new U.S. Constitution was just beginning. The path to a new political framework wouldn't be easy, and the debate would expose the fault lines in American society as the nation now clashed over the meaning and purpose of the American experiment itself. Now streaming. Welcome to Buy It Now, the show where aspiring entrepreneurs get the opportunity of a lifetime. I wouldn't be chasing it if I didn't believe that the world needs this product. In each episode, the entrepreneurs get 90 seconds to pitch to an audience of potential customers.

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You can binge Incoming exclusively and ad-free on Wondery+. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify. What started as a grassroots uprising in the Massachusetts countryside reverberated far beyond anything the rebel farmers could ever have imagined.

Shea's Rebellion crystallized what was already becoming clear to many by the fall of 1786, that the federal government was too weak to enforce its laws. Under the terms laid out by the 1781 Articles of Confederation, Congress lacked the power to tax, regulate trade, pay the nation's debts, and raise and maintain an army. There was no chief executive and no federal courts to enforce the nation's laws and treaties. Power rested in the hands of the states, which were joined together only in a loose confederation. Debates over the Articles of Confederation ramped up in the fall of 1786, just as the regulators were shutting down courthouses in rural Massachusetts.

While some state leaders wanted to merely revise the articles, others thought that the only option was a complete replacement. But redesigning the U.S. government wouldn't be easy. The mere idea of it would ignite a fierce national debate over what kind of republic the United States should be. And that was just the first problem. Once a new federal charter was drafted, it would ultimately require the consent of 9 out of 13 state legislatures.

The creation of a new constitution would also expose deep rifts among the American people, replicating on the national stage many of the same conflicts that drove a wedge through Massachusetts. Throughout 1787, the nation's leading power brokers debated distinct visions of America's future. Some saw the country as a primarily agrarian society. Others favored commercial interests. Leaders were deeply divided over whether power should rest with the states or with the federal government. Back in September 1786, James Madison had organized a convention in Annapolis to address the Confederation's weaknesses. But only a few states attended, and the low participation doomed the effort, and the delegates decided to reconvene in Philadelphia the following year. This timing turned out to be crucial. In the months leading up to the

Philadelphia Convention in May 1787, Shea's rebellion helped give an edge to advocates of strong federal government. The battles and arrests that tore through Massachusetts riveted the nation. Those who wanted a strong central government warned that insurrection was just the first omen of the anarchy that awaited the country as long as power rested with inadequate state governments. Commenting on the farmer revolt, George Washington asked, What stronger evidence can be given of the want of energy in our governments than these disorders? Yet not everyone was convinced that Shea's rebellion foretold the nation's downfall. Thomas Jefferson famously reacted to the uprising with the remark, a little rebellion now and then is a good thing. Still, the dire reports from Massachusetts

convinced state leaders to back a strong federal government that could weather the storms of domestic turmoil. Because it wasn't just Massachusetts that had faced unrest. State leaders were horrified by news of backcountry protests against debt and tax collectors in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and South Carolina. For them, something had to be done to strengthen the Union. As leaders converged on Philadelphia in May, Shea's rebellion gave those that wanted a strong federal government their most powerful weapon, George Washington. After the Revolution, the revered war hero had vowed to leave public life. But now, the country he had fought so hard to create seemed to be coming undone. The Massachusetts uprising was

alarming enough to draw him out of retirement to join the convention, where he was elected as its president. During four sweltering months in the summer of 1787, 55 men from all 13 states gathered together in Philadelphia to hammer out a new federal constitution. The windows of Independence Hall were nailed shut to shroud the convention in secrecy. Inside the stifling meeting hall, Shea's rebellion hung over the heated debates, affecting the character of the constitution itself. The delegates also understood that domestic turmoil was partly triggered by the country's chaotic finances. Alexander Hamilton believed that federal government could be an engine of economic growth.

He called for expansive federal power over taxation and an equitable distribution of the tax burden among the states. The delegates also agreed that a more robust military was needed to suppress future rebellions. They gave Congress the ability to raise and support armies for a maximum of two years and the power to levy taxes to fund them. They also gave the federal government the power to suspend habeas corpus in case of rebellion. They provided for state-to-state extradition to discourage criminals from fleeing justice, as the Massachusetts rebels had done when fleeing to Vermont. In all, this new constitution prescribed a government much different from what Americans had been living under, with much more power concentrated at the federal level, but the states still had to agree to it. In September 1787, the Constitution was presented to the 13 states for ratification. The ink had barely dried when

its staunchest advocates launched a public relations campaign to muster support. The defenders of the new Constitution called themselves Federalists, but they faced an uphill battle. Having just won a war against British tyranny, many Americans were suspicious of centralized power. But the Federalists fought back. As they made their case, they branded their opponents, the Anti-Federalists, as Shaysites, attempting to paint them as supporters of the rebellion that had so concerned the nation. The bitter fight over ratification soon engulfed every state. The Federalists anxiously watched debates play out

in Massachusetts, one of the most influential states in the Union and the second most populous. They knew that a rejection of the Constitution by Massachusetts would doom their efforts. Imagine it's late November 1787. The sun is setting outside the town hall in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where you've been sitting all day listening to your neighbors argue. You're here trying to decide who to send to Boston as a representative for the state ratifying convention. You're exhausted with all the bickering, but you know how important this is.

You feel that the new Constitution is the best antidote to the turmoil and economic instability crippling the nation. When it's finally your turn to speak, you clear your throat and stand. Gentlemen, as you all know, I own the general store in town. My business has suffered badly since the war. I know we've all struggled to make our payments, but these forces are bigger than any of us. We need a government that will safeguard the economy. We must send a delegate who will vote in favor of the Constitution, and I vote for Elijah Dwight. No, you're wrong. A man in the back of the room interrupts you. You recognize him as a farmer who frequents your store. He joined the rebels in shutting down the local courthouse last year. He steps to the front of the room.

We should send Dr. Whiting. This Constitution will hand all the power in this country to the shopkeepers and the traders. What of the landowners, the farmers, the laborers? We'll be swallowed up by the lawyers and moneyed men. Will there be no end to the tyranny of the commercial class? He's asked a question, and you feel you have the right to answer. Tyranny. If anyone has brought tyranny to this country,

it's the mobs that turned this town upside down last year, and I believe you were one of them. We need a government that will stabilize the currency and prevent debt crises from occurring again. Can't you see that the current system is not working? And you think the answer is a government with a chief executive. I didn't fight a war against a king just to be ruled by another. You feel your face flush with anger. No, no, no. This is different.

The Constitution provides for a president chosen by the people, not a monarch. But before tempers can flare any further, the town crier calls for a vote. Enough of this, men. We could be here all night. It's time we elect our delegate. All in favor of sending Elijah Dwight to Boston? Yay. All in favor of electing Dr. Whiting? Yay.

It's a narrow vote, and you're disappointed to see your town send the anti-Constitution candidate to the convention. You glimpse the farmer, return to the back of the room, shaking hands with the doctor and smiling. All you can do is hope that your town representative will be outnumbered in Boston. You know the future of the country depends on it. In the fall of 1787, towns across Massachusetts debated the proposed federal constitution. The tensions that had erupted in Shays' Rebellion once again divided Massachusetts residents. Merchants and professionals largely supported the Federalists. They blamed the post-war depression on the inadequacies of the Articles of Confederation. They wanted a government strong enough to keep economic chaos and social turmoil at bay.

But farmers and artisans allied themselves with the anti-Federalists and mounted fervent opposition. They feared the Constitution set up a government backed only by merchant interests that would encroach on their lives. In January 1788, 355 delegates from throughout Massachusetts converged on Boston to cast their votes at the state's ratifying convention. The outcome was tight, but the delegates narrowly approved the new Constitution. The margin was just 19 votes. The coastal communities overwhelmingly backed the Constitution, and it helped that the convention was in Boston. Transportation

costs prevented some 50 anti-Ffederalist towns from sending delegates. Of the 97 Massachusetts towns with strong rebel sympathies, only seven supported the Constitution. In June, New Hampshire became the ninth state to ratify the Constitution, and the last one needed to make it the official framework of the nation. The country marched forward in a bold new experiment in Republican self-government. But the backcountry farmers, who had launched a grassroots movement in 1786 still wanted their leaders to respond to their grievances. They had fought government soldiers and challenged the rule of law, and in the end, their actions helped pave the way for a creation of a new constitution, but one that

vested strong powers in the federal government. Just a few years later, these powers would be put to the test in western Pennsylvania as the revitalized U.S. government attempted to exercise its newfound authority by taxing liquor. Frontier farmers and distillers in western Pennsylvania would rise up in protest, defying the law and spreading chaos once again. It would be the first major challenge to federal authority, threatening the future of American democracy and the survival of the young republic. On the next episode of American History Tellers, the Whiskey Rebellion erupts on the western frontier

as armed gangs battle tax collectors and threaten anyone who cooperates with them. As authorities struggle to suppress the violence, hundreds of armed rebels descend on the home of a federal official, sparking a deadly battle with the U.S. Army. From Wondery, this is American History Tellers. If you like American History Tellers, you can binge all episodes early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. And before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey. American History Tellers is hosted, edited, and produced by me, Lindsey Graham for Airship.

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