Daniel Shays was an American soldier, revolutionary and farmer famous for allegedly leading Shays' Rebellion, a populist uprising against controversial debt collection and tax policies in Massachusetts in 1786–1787. The actual role played by Daniel Shays in Shays' Rebellion is disputed by scholars.
"An Authentic Portrait of the Chief Insurgent" from 1878's Our First Century by Richard Miller Devens
Daniel and Abigail Shays' Pelham, MA farmhouse, c. 1898
Contemporary engraving depicting Daniel Shays (left) and Job Shattuck, another rebel leader; the artist intentionally rendered them in an unflattering way
The Springfield Armory (building pictured is from the 19th century) was the first major target of the rebellion.
Shays's Rebellion was an armed uprising in Western Massachusetts and Worcester in response to a debt crisis among the citizenry and in opposition to the state government's increased efforts to collect taxes on both individuals and their trades. The fighting took place in the areas around Springfield during 1786 and 1787. Historically, scholars have argued that the four thousand rebels, called Shaysites, who protested against economic and civil rights injustices by the Massachusetts Government were led by Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays. However, recent scholarship has suggested that Shays's role in the protests was significantly and strategically exaggerated by Massachusetts elites, who had a political interest in shifting blame for bad economic conditions away from themselves.
An illustration of Shays's troops repulsed from the armory in Springfield in early 1787
Populist Governor John Hancock refused to crack down on tax delinquencies and accepted devalued paper currency for debts.
Artist's depiction of protesters watching a debtor in a scuffle with a tax collector by the courthouse at Springfield, Massachusetts. The insurrection was a tax-related rebellion.
Governor James Bowdoin instituted a heavy tax burden and stepped up a collection of back taxes.
