Following the Revolutionary War, the depreciation of money and the institution of new state taxes in Massachusetts devastated many Western Massachusetts farmers. One, Daniel Shays, led a revolt, known as “Shays Rebellion,” (1786-1787) against the state. He and his “Regulators” closed courts and attempted to attack the armory at Springfield. This song that appeared in the Hampshire Gazette is a parody of a 17th century song known as “Old Mad Tom,” about inmates in a London, England mental institution known as Bedlam Hospital. In the Gazette version, Tom is going to break the state constitution, remove judges from the bench, move the state government, and take power away from the eastern counties. Thomas Grover was a Regulator from Montague, Massachusetts. The letter referred to by this writer was published in the Hampshire Gazette on December 26, 1786. William Butler began publication of the paper on September 6, 1786, in Northampton, Massachusetts. The mission of the newspaper was to inform the public about the issues pertaining to ongoing conflicts. Butler was decidedly on the government side of the issues.
Bombordilla. “The Song.” Hampshire Gazette, February 28, 1787. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/l04-092/. Accessed on October 16, 2024.
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