After the end of the Revolutionary War in 1783, the value of money in Massachusetts depreciated rapidly and new state taxes were instituted. This caused many farmers in the western part of the state to fall into debt and many lost their farms. War veteran and farmer Daniel Shays, rallied fellow farmers, known as “Regulators” to revolt in what became known as Shays Rebellion (1786-1787). On December 9, 1786, Regulator leaders appointed a committee of 17 men to oversee the organization of military companies and regiments “in the present movement of the people.” Each member of the committee was assigned a regiment and ordered to write a letter to towns requesting them to meet and organize their men into companies. Obadiah Foot of Greenfield accordingly wrote this letter to the town clerk of Deerfield requesting the town “to assemble your companies to chuse a Captain and other officers necessary, and make return of the person so chosen to me as soon as may be.” Deerfield did not comply with Foot’s request, as very few residents actively supported the revolt. The letter may have been sent to the Hampshire Gazette to promote anti-Regulator sentiments among those alarmed by these preparations for a violent contest with the Massachusetts government. William Butler, the publisher of the Gazette, disapproved of the methods of the Regulators and their cause. He lost no opportunity to publish news and commentary that might discredit them in the eyes of the public. Butler began publication of the Hampshire Gazette on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The mission of the newspaper was to inform the public about the issues pertaining to the ongoing conflicts.
Foot, Obadiah. [Obadiah Foot’s request to organize a Regulator company in “To the good People of the Town of Deerfield” article.] Hampshire Gazette, January 3, 1787. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-075/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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