USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -In January 1787, Shays’ men attacked a Springfield building where they government stored guns. Wealthy merchants from as far away as Baltimore, Maryland paid to raise a militia and the governor of Massachusetts sent the soldiers to fight the rebels.

Detailed explanation-2: -Shays’s Rebellion, (August 1786–February 1787), uprising in western Massachusetts in opposition to high taxes and stringent economic conditions. Armed bands forced the closing of several courts to prevent execution of foreclosures and debt processes.

Detailed explanation-3: -In September, Shays led a group of 600 men to shut down the court in Springfield. Determined to use peaceful means, he negotiated with General William Shepard for the court to open while allowing protesters to parade. The court eventually closed down when it couldn’t find any jurors to serve.

Detailed explanation-4: -Eighteen men, including Shays, were convicted and sentenced to death. Most of these either had their convictions overturned on appeal, were pardoned, or had their sentences commuted. Two of the condemned men, John Bly and Charles Rose, were hanged on December 6, 1787.

Detailed explanation-5: -In an effort to correct the injustices they experienced, Shays and others, many of them veterans of the war, soon attempted to storm and occupy the Springfield Arsenal on January 25, 1787. The rebellion that bears his name ended in loss of life and near disaster for the new Commonwealth.