Historic Scenes
A Bloody Encounter: "the body of the people assembled in arms"
Escalating tensions in Massachusetts reached a crisis point at the United States Arsenal at Springfield. Both sides claimed they were defending the rights of the people; the government prevailed with the help of the Arsenal cannon.
Observers
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Abigail Adams
London, January 29, 1787
"Ignorant, restless desperadoes, without conscience or principles, have led a deluded multitude to follow their standard under the pretense of grievances which have no existence but in their imaginations." Click for more info -
Thomas Jefferson
Paris, February 22, 1787
"The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions, that I wish it to be always kept alive. It will often be exercised when wrong, but better so than not to be exercised at all. I like a little rebellion now and then. It is like a storm in the Atmosphere." Click for more info -
John Marshall
Virginia, January 1, 1787
"Massachusetts is rent into two equal factions & an appeal I fear has by this time been made to the god of battles." -
Elizabeth Porter Phelps
Hadley, MA, January 14, 1787
"Thusday Morn my Husband set out with sleighs to help the men to Springfield which are raised in this town for support of Government...it Looks as Dark as Night, a very great Army is coming from Boston and some are Collecting on the other side. It appears as if nothing but the immediate interposition of providence could prevent Blood." Click for more info
Themes
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Getting By & Getting Ahead
An economic crisis worsened relations between heavily-taxed, financially-strapped Massachusetts citizens and their state legislature.
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We the People
Both the Shaysites and the militia that opposed them believed they were defending hard-won freedoms gained in the American Revolution.
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The Wider World
The battle at the Arsenal was a heavy blow to those striving to convince friends and foes that America's experiments in self-government were a success.
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Everyday Life
Men from communities throughout western Massachusetts fought at the Arsenal on both sides.
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Related To This Scene
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Action at the Arsenal
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Address to the People from Several Towns
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Athol Petition to General Court
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Benjamin Lincoln
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Bullet mold
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Daniel Shays
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Day's Demands to Shepard
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Day writes to Shays
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Deposition of Buffington
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Gazette Account of Rebellion
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Gazette Report on Troop Movements
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Lincoln writes to Shays
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Luke Day
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Quilted Grapeshot
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Troop movements
Historic illustration © 2008 Bryant White.