Sam Lincoln / Daniel Shays

Daniel Shays

A few steps down the street, Sam Lincoln is approached by a man who stops him. The man is carrying a gun and has the bearing of a military officer. Sam is afraid and tries to get around the man but is not successful.

Lincoln: Sir, you are blocking my path. I am pressed for time.

Man: Excuse me but I see you have been to the tax office.

Lincoln: I can’t see where that concerns you.

Man: But it does. My name is Daniel Shays and I’d like to talk to you about your problem.

Lincoln: What problem? If you want money from me, you’ve stopped the wrong man. I have but a piece of stale bread in my sack.

Daniel Shays: Farmers all over the state are as poor as you are and are told that they will be paying more in taxes than ever before or they will lose their land.

Lincoln: You look like a military man. Don’t try to get me to join your militia; I’ve got a farm to care for.

Shays: Stop talking for a minute and let me explain. When the country went to war, I joined the local militia and fought the redcoats. I even had my own charge as captain. When it was time for me to go back home, they told me they didn’t have any money to pay me. I wanted to fight for this country’s freedom and had no regrets except when I got home to find so many unpaid debts that I had no money to pay them.

Lincoln: Why didn’t you stay until they paid you?

Shays: I was wounded and had to resign. I was proud to have served my country in time of need but being faced with a summons to go to court for not paying my debts was an insult to this wounded militiaman. When I returned from the war, I was dismayed that so many men had become humiliated by debts and, like you, were about to lose the few possessions they had.  Many of the men of business who borrowed from Europe to pay the cost of war had been forced to repay those debts. There was little left to pay the men who risked their lives in combat.

Lincoln: Then there is nothing to be done?          

Shays: Many of us have tried to petition the legislature in Boston that we soldiers need help but other priorities have taken what little money was left. We have tried everything civil people could think of. Now it is time to use the skills we learned in war and to rebel against the government that remains unconcerned about us. Let me tell you what you can do.

During the years 1786 and 1787, conflicts took place between desperate debtor-farmers and state government authorities in western Massachusetts. This confrontation became known as Shays' Rebellion and came to symbolize the widespread discontent manifested throughout New England during the economic depression that followed the American Revolution. In August, 1786, a group of 1500 farmers marched on Northampton to prevent the courts from hearing foreclosure proceedings. In September, an armed force led by Shays closed the courthouse at Springfield. Shays and his men tried to take the Springfield Armory but were defeated. In the end, about four thousand men signed confessions of taking arms against the government. All but a few were pardoned. Shays and some of his men were condemned to die but were later pardoned as well.