Answer:
In 1780, the Boston financiers and shipowners used the state constitution to reserve the right to vote only to the owners. Controlling the legislature, they levied various taxes for the repayment of the debts of the war against Great Britain, and pursued lawsuits against the largely ruined civilians in western Massachusetts.
At the end of the war of independence, the thirteen newly independent colonies were in a difficult situation. Many citizens got into debt during the conflict. However, independence had resulted in a contraction of trade between the West Indies and the port of Boston. English manufacturers, as soon as the peace returned, put pressure on governments to ensure that importers in Massachusetts accomplished their claims. These blow harassed retailers who did the same with farmers. The difficulties of the indebted citizens were all the greater as the creditors demanded to be paid in metallic money (gold, silver or copper) and refused paper money, payments in kind or title deeds. At first, the peasants asked the state to compel the creditors to accept the paper money but the Massachusetts assembly refused. Taken by the throat, some citizens revolted, led by Daniel Shays.
Daniel Shays was a farm worker in western Massachusetts. He joined the revolutionary troops in 1775. He ended the war with the rank of captain. After his demobilization in 1780, he had to wait a long time for his payment. But very quickly, his debts increased, and the bitterness of having fought for a republic which gave him nothing grew up.
The rebels were small farmers revolted by their debt and the increase in taxes. They formed a militia of 1,200 men, and attacked Springfield in January 1787. They also launched a campaign of intimidation against traders in western Massachusetts.
Massachusetts asked for help in Congress. Most states, however, refused to mobilize the resources necessary to suppress the revolt by individual selfishness. Massachusetts formed a state militia under the leadership of Benjamin Lincoln. To cope, the rebels sought to seize the federal arsenal of Springfield that would provide them with all the weapons they needed. But Lincoln's militia was faster than them and took control of the arsenal. The rebels were finally beaten and then sentenced to death and amnestied.
