Following the Revolutionary War, the devaluation of money and newly instituted state taxes caused bankruptcy and loss of land for many Western Massachusetts farmers. War veteran and farmer, Daniel Shays, organized a revolt against the state government with his fellow “Regulators” in what became known as Shays’ Rebellion (1786-1787). This article from the Hampshire Gazette offered readers hungry for information an account of the violent encounter between government militia and Regulators at the Springfield, Massachusetts, arsenal on January 25, 1787. The Gazette also reported the events of the four days following the action, including communication between General Benjamin Lincoln to Daniel Shays and other “leaders of the insurgents.” William Butler began published the Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts, 18 days after the Regulators prevented the Court of Common Pleas from convening there. Butler’s newspaper often urged support of the government and opposed the activities of the Regulators. The paper came out on Wednesdays and consisted primarily of articles reprinted from other newspapers.
Hampshire Gazette. “Hampshire Gazette newspaper article on Shays’ Rebellion.” January 31, 1787. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-079/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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