James Bowdoin
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James Bowdoin II was an American politician from Boston, Massachusetts who was active during the American Revolution and the following decade. He initially gained fame and influence as a wealthy merch
Portrait by Robert Feke, c. 1748
Portrait of Bowdoin as a child by John Smibert
Governor Francis Bernard
John Hancock (British mezzotint, 1775) was a perennial opponent of Bowdoin in matters political and personal.
Shays's Rebellion
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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
James Bowdoin
…two years in office, the combination of poor economic conditions and his harsh fiscal policy laid down by his government led to the uprising known as Shays' Rebellion. Bowdoin personally funded militia forces that were instrumental in putting down the uprising. His high-handed treatment of the rebels may have contributed…
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.