History Daily - Daniel Shays Leads a Rebellion

Episode Date: September 26, 2025

September 26, 1786. American farmer Daniel Shays leads a militia of debt-ridden citizens to protest high taxes and shut down Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in what will come to be known as Shays’ Rebellion. This episode originally aired in 2022. Support the show! Join Into History for ad-free listening and more.History Daily is a co-production of Airship and Noiser.Go to HistoryDaily.com for more history, daily.

It's November 25, 1783, two months after the end of the American Revolution. On horseback, General George Washington leads a procession of 800 continental troops into New York City for a victory march. For seven years, the city remained firmly under British control. But just minutes ago, the last of the British Army boarded their vessels and left. As Washington and his men get closer to the city, throngs of citizens come out to cheer, relieved from British rule. Washington waves at the spectators as they cream their necks to get a look at the now-famous general. But just before they make it inside New York City limits, Washington halts the procession. He motions for his men to head toward a tavern on a nearby street corner where they can celebrate alongside the residents.

The spectators cheer as the commander and several of his officers hop off their horses and hitch them outside the tavern. Together the men walk inside and ask for a round of drinks. As the bartender pours, a throng of soldiers and citizens from the street outside form around the general. With glass in hand, Washington turns to the crowd. A hush falls over the room. And then cheers are up as Washington and his men lift their drinks in the air and toast to liberty and freedom. In September of 1783, with the signing of the Treaty of Paris, the Revolutionary War officially came to an end. Two months after that, on November 25th, Washington led his troops on a victory march,

through New York City as the final remaining British troops left American soil on what will become known as evacuation day. After Washington's pit stop at the Bullshead Tavern, the rest of the day and the months to follow will be full of festivities and celebration. In December, Washington will retire to Mount Vernon in high spirits, excited to finally retreat from public life and enjoy the solitude of the countryside. What soon, harsh post-war realities will interrupt his retirement. Eventually, the debts of the war will come due and put America in crisis. Three short years after leading the American Revolution to victory, Washington will watch a new insurgency grow on American soil. Soon, tax-burdened farmers will rise up against their government,

forming an armed militia and storming the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on September 26, 1786. From Noisor and Airship, I'm Lindsay Graham, and this is History Daily. History is made every day. On this podcast, every day, we tell the true stories of the people and events that shaped our world. Today is September 26th, 1786. Daniel Shays leads a rebellion. It's the summer of 1786 at Conkies Tavern in Pelham, Massachusetts, three years after the end of the Revolutionary War. Outside, Daniel Shays hurries up the path to the large two-story bar, running late for a meeting. He throws open the tavern's front door and heads straight for its bar room. Inside wait a legion of poor local farmers like himself. As Daniel steps into the room, they turn to greet him and then get down to business, ready to air their latest grievances against a government they believe has turned its back on them. Since winning the Revolutionary War, life for many Americans has not improved. The new U.S. government, defined by the Articles of Confederation, is hanging on by a thread.

Under these articles, America is less a country and more a loose league of independent nation-states. Without a uniform currency, a military force, or the power to regulate trade or collect taxes, the national government has little power, and states are largely left to fend for themselves. But the war for independence has left these states deeply in debt, but nowhere is the pain greater than in Massachusetts, and no group feels it more than its farmers. To pay off its war debts, Massachusetts increased land taxes. From 1776 to 1786, taxes increased. least 1,000 percent. Now, the average Massachusetts farmer is required to pay about one-third of his

annual income to the state. And because inflation has rendered paper money worthless, both creditors and the government are demanding repayment in gold or silver. But hard currency is in short supply, especially for debt-burdened farmers like Daniel Shays. Daniel is a former captain in the Continental Army. But like many soldiers, Daniel never received the payment he was promised for his service in the American Revolution. And without that income, Daniel has been unable to pay his debts. For months, creditors and tax collectors have hounded him, and now Daniel is broke and deeply anxious that his small farm is about to be seized. But Daniel's not the only one. For months, farmers like him have been meeting at Conkey's Tavern to vent similar frustrations.

And as Daniel takes his seat inside the barroom today, he listens to complaints about a recent wave of foreclosures. One farmer suggests that in response, they send a petition to the Massachusetts government. But Daniel just sighs at this. He wishes a simple petition could solve their problems. But he knows it won't. Many farmers have already tried petitioning and all have been unsuccessful.

Daniel takes the swig of his drink and then stands to his feet. He tells the farmers that the time for petitions is over. Too many men have lost their land and possessions. Local jails are filled to the brim with debtors. This is not the liberty that he fought for. and they need to take action now. A hush falls over the room as the men contemplate what Daniel is suggesting. But soon he and his fellow farmers have hatched a plan for rebellion.

Judges can't seize and sell their property if they can't make it inside the courthouse. If the farmers take up arms and surround the county courthouse, they can halt the seizures. So for weeks, the men wait for the right moment to take their stand. In August, the moment comes when the state legislature adjourns, without considering the petition sent by rural workers. For the aggrieved farmers, this is the final straw, proving that their diplomatic efforts will never work. So on August 29, 1786, farmers put their plan into action.

On the morning of their planned uprising, Daniel Shays walks to his closet and fishes out his old military uniform. He never expected to wear it again so soon, let alone in a revolt against the American government he had fought so hard for. But Daniel sees no other way out of this relentlessly. less taxation. So without another thought, he dons his old Revolutionary War uniform, picks up his gun, and heads to the county courthouse in Northampton. There, Daniel joined several hundred other protesters, mostly farmers. In their hands are guns, swords, and other weapons.

And like Daniel, many wear their old military uniforms. With drums beating and fiefs playing, they march in formation to the county courthouse. As judges attempt to enter, the men band together and surround the building blocking their entrance. For hours, they hold their positions, successfully preventing judges from approving any further property seizures, debt collections, and foreclosures. Then at midnight, the men finally leave.

The protests will stump the Massachusetts government. Four days after, in Northampton, Governor James Bowden will denounce the mob action and warn of an armed response to future incidents. But just two days later, protesters will shut down another court in Worcester, Massachusetts. This time, Governor Bowdozen, will send in the county militia, but it will be no use.

Sympathetic to the protesters' cause, many of the militia's men will refuse to turn up, some will even join forces with the demonstrators. And without military assistance from the federal government, Governor Bowden will find himself powerless. But while the governor will struggle to control a growing rebellion, Daniel Shays will come to develop a firm grip over the protesters. And soon, he'll prepare to lead the charge in their most daring venture to date.

It's the morning of September 26, 1786, near Springfield, Massachusetts. On the city's outskirts, the force of several hundred protesters marched toward town. At their head is Daniel Shays, the man in charge of today's mission to shut down the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. One week ago, the court indicted 11 leaders of the state's recent rebellions, claiming their behavior was disorderly, riotous, and seditious. Three of the men were Daniel's friends. And when he learned of their indictments, He decided to take action.

For the past week, rumors have circulated that the state's Supreme Court will indictment will indictment more leaders during a session scheduled for today. Like they did in Northampton, Daniel and other protesters, now known as the regulators, want to shut down the court and prevent further indictments. But Daniel knows it will be far more dangerous to take a stand at the state's highest court than to shut down a mere county courthouse. In Springfield, they won't have to deal with a county militia. They'll have to face off with a state militia.

and Daniel worries they won't be as sympathetic as the local militias have been. Daniel's done his best to raise as many men as possible in Northampton, and in Springfield he plans to converge with the city's own force of rebelling farmers. Together he hopes they can hold their line and successfully shut down the courthouse. But as he and his men draw closer to town, Daniel realizes his plan is already going wrong. Outside the courthouse, the state militia is waiting for them. Daniel pauses because he didn't expect this. Now there's no way to seize the courthouse without inciting violence, and Daniel wants to avoid

combat. Though many of the regulators are armed and well-equipped for a fight, many are not, and no one relishes the prospect of bloodshed, so Daniel tries to strike a deal instead. Slowly he walks ahead to meet the state's militia commander, General William Shepard. As the men face each other, Daniel explains the rebels' demands. He tells the general that they don't want violence, but they refuse to let the court issue any further indictments, or sit again until the grievances of the people have been addressed. As Daniel speaks, Springfield's regulators converge with Daniel's Northampton force. As their numbers swell, Daniel sees General Shepard's expression change from defiance to concern. Now outnumbered,

the general decides to negotiate. He tells Daniel that the judges and militia will stay away from the courthouse, but only if he and his men agree to demonstrate peacefully. Daniel agrees to the offer. And as the state militia dissolves around them, the protesters surround the courthouse. For two days, they parade around the building with fife and drum, refusing to leave until the court's justices agree to halt their hearings against farmers. Eventually, the judges concede defeat and adjourn without hearing any cases. Triumphant, Daniel and his men returned to Northampton. Quickly, word of the showdown at the state's highest court spreads throughout the state

and turns Daniel into a new leader of a burgeoning rebellion and emboldens the the farmers' movement. All across Massachusetts, confrontations at courthouses continue with a new vigor. But in Virginia, news of the rebellion's escalation alarms a retired George Washington. After the Revolutionary War, the former general was ready to leave politics behind. But the troubled state of the young country has made it hard to enjoy his leisure. For weeks, the growing insurgency in Massachusetts has weighed heavily on his mind. And shortly after Daniel Shea's demonstration in Springfield, Washington receives a letter that only intensifies his concern. Washington's heart sinks as he reads his friend's worrying report.

In one word, my dear general, we are in dire apprehension that a beginning of anarchy with all its calamities has approached. Washington sets down the letter with a sigh of frustration. He doesn't understand how Massachusetts has let the turmoil get to this point. He wishes he could do something about it or that the federal government could step in. But under the Articles of Confederation,

Congress can't fund troops to suppress a rebellion, nor can it regulate commerce to mitigate the farmer's economic hardships. So for the rest of the day, the troubles in Massachusetts stay on Washington's mind. He knows that rebellion will only grow stronger if it's allowed to go on, and he worries it's only a matter of time before the rebellion will turn violent. Washington's concern would be shared by Massachusetts legislature. In the coming months, they will threaten protesters with severe punishment while offering pardons to any who take an oath of allegiance and lay down their arms. And at the top of their most wanted list will be Daniel Shea's.

The legislature will see the attack on Massachusetts Supreme Court as a direct assault on the sovereignty of the state's government. And Daniel Shea's growing influence will make his name synonymous with the rebellion. By December, the growing conflict will lead Governor Bowden to mobilize a private militia, funded by Boston businessman and dedicated solely to stopping the rebellion. But while the government will assemble its forces, Daniel Shays and other rebel leaders will organize their own. It's January 25, 1787, just east of Springfield, Massachusetts,

and four months after Daniel Shays and his fellow protesters stormed the state's Supreme Judicial Court. Today, Daniel leads another regiment of men toward the city. This contingent is far larger than the last force he brought to Springfield. Today, he has well over a thousand men marching by his side. As word of Daniel's earlier protests spread around New England, like-minded Americans flocked to his cause. Within a matter of months, his rag-tag gang of farmers grew into an army

1,500 strong. But as the movement grew stronger, more and more ringleaders were arrested. These arrests have only angered the protesters further, though. Now Daniel and many others are outraged at what they see as a tyrannical government, and they're ready to stand against it. Recently, Daniel set his sights on sacking Boston, home to the businessmen that control the state's government and funded a militia against the farmers.

But to make his attack, he needs weapons. So today, Daniel and his men are headed to the largest stockpile of weapons in the U.S., the Springfield Arsenal. For weeks, Daniel has organized an attack on the armory with just two other rebel leaders. Together, they plan to attack from three sides simultaneously. But as the armory comes into view, Daniel sees General William Shepard and Governor Bowdoin's private militia already there waiting for them. Daniel glances northward. In the distance he sees their allied forces approaching,

but when he turns west, he sees none of his men. Daniel wonders where the other contingent of regulators is, but he doesn't halt his march. He's sure the absent force will arrive soon. But as Daniel's men and the northern force converge on the armory, they still have no support from the west. The government militias fire warning shots to deter the rebels from coming any closer, but Daniel is confident in their numbers. He orders his men to march on. General Shepherd looks at the masses of advancing troops before turning back to his own. He had hoped that there would be no bloodshed today, but he sees little choice. Daniel Shea's forces continue their march, making no heed of the warning shots. The general orders his men to fire. In the end, Daniel

Shays and his regulators will be no match for the militia. By the time the smoke clears, Daniel will be in full retreat. Four of his followers will be dead, and as many as 20 more will be injured. Within a week, Daniel and his rebels will surrender and return to their homes and defeat. The battle at the Springfield Arsenal will spell the end of Shea's rebellion as the five-month uprising will become known. But many will worry that the conflict is an omen of turmoil to come. For George Washington, Shea's rebellion will be enough to push him out of retirement and back into politics. Alongside, at 54 other delegates, Washington will attend the Constitutional Convention just a few months after the uprising's end. There, the nation's leaders will work to address the shortcomings

of the Articles of Confederation, and after months of heated debate, they will agree on a new blueprint for a stronger federal government, one they hope will balance the needs of large and small states and prevent another rebellion. The document they authored the United States Constitution will transform American government. But it might not have been deemed to necessary if the fragility of the country under the Articles of Confederation was not proven by Shea's rebellion, which won its largest victory at the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court on September 26, 1786. Next on History Daily, September 29, 1864. During the American Civil War, 14 African-American

soldiers are awarded the Medal of Honor for their gallantry under fire at the Battle of New Market Heights. From Noisor and airship, this is History Daily. hosted, edited, and executive produced by me, Lindsay Graham. Audio editing and sound design by Molly Bach. Music by Lindsay Graham. This episode is written and research by Alexander Curry Buckner. Executive producers are Stephen Walters for airship

and Pascal Hughes for a noiser.