Yesterday on January 25, 1787, a revolutionary war hero Daniel Shays led a rebellion with about 2000 angry farmers to the arsenal at Springfield, Ma. The rebels were put down by General Shepard leading 1200 government soldiers. The soldiers captured the fighting rebels and they are expected to be sentenced to death on the charge of treason. The angry mob rallied against the new higher taxes and economic conditions that are occurring in the rural lands. Also they were rebelling against politicians and laws which were mostly unfair to the farmers and working people in general. They made it clear they did not like the new polling taxes that keep the poor from voting, unfair actions by the court of common pleas, the high cost of lawsuits, and the lack of a stable currency. The rebels demanded the issue of a paper money, since there is a variety of paper currency now, but not much value is put on it. This however, has not been the first appearance of Daniel Shays with his rebels. On August 29th, 1786, he was at the court house in Northampton to prevent the trial and imprisonment of some debtors. In September 1786, Shays and about 600 armed farmers stormed the courthouse in Springfield. Governor Bowdin countered with a militia of 4400 troops. The United States has yet to form formal government organizations. The constitutional congress has yet to convene, and the country is in chaos.
