The early American republic is not discussed much in American history, at least not in high school. You might get some of that time period in a college history class, but it doesn’t seem to be a big topic in popular history. Why is that? Maybe because it’s easy to see how the Founding Generation didn’t live up to their high-minded ideals and pretty rhetoric. Or maybe it’s because early United States history is fraught with rebellions, tax revolts, uprisings and the like.
Either way, it’s a very fascinating period and some of the events then played a major role in shaping the country that would grow to be the biggest empire the world has ever seen, that went from the smallest government on the planet to the biggest government in human history. Shays’ Rebellion is one of those events that provoked a reaction and enabled the machinations of characters like Alexander Hamilton. It even helped push George Washington out of retirement, and played a part in the push for a stronger central government. It’s also a great story in and of itself, teaching us a lot about the people that founded this country, known and unknown, and it also teaches us a lot about America’s true relationship with the men that fight its wars.
However, to understand Shays’ Rebellion, you can’t just look at the events starting in June of 1786; instead you have to understand the economic situation at the time, and also the roots of the Continental Army and the direction it pushed the American Revolution in. Join us as Matt tells the story of the Massachusetts Regulators, who go down in history as the Shaysites.
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73 – Shays’ Rebellion