In early American history there are 3 important rebellions to analyze. These revolts can give a crucial look into the brains of the population and what made the people finally say enough is enough. The first notable rebellion to occur in American history was Bacon’s Rebellion. This uprising began in 1676 in colonial Virginia. There was two different factions involved in this event. The Backcountry was a group of yeoman farmers who had small farms that were good for subsistence farming and a small amount of trade. They inhabited the western coast of Virginia and had to deal with the Native American tribes, as well as the horrible farming land that had been given to them. A good proportion of these men were indentured servants who had just completed …show more content…
their contract and were prepared to start their life with farming land suitable for growing tobacco. However, these hopes and dreams would not last long once they found out where their property lie. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19) (Week 3 Lecture Notes) The second class involved in Bacon’s Rebellion is the Tidewater. The members of the Tidewater class were mostly those of rich background. They mainly populated the eastern coast of Virginia and owned all of the excellent farming land. Many of these farms were gigantic and elegant compared to those of their rivalling clan in the backcountry. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19) (Week 3 Lecture Notes) Things began to take a turn for the worst with these groups when the price of Tobacco started to fall. Those in the west already could barely make ends meet, and now that the worth of tobacco was plummeting, many saw their hope to be economically successful crumbling right in front of their eyes. To deepen the division Governor William Berkeley; who was associated with the Tidewater group, was becoming increasingly disliked by the people of the west because of his favoritism towards the rich planters. This is where Nathaniel Bacon comes in. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 3 Lecture Notes) Bacon immigrated to Virginia and quickly learned that the only land left was the backcountry. However, Bacon found himself lucky and earned a spot in Governor Berkeley’s inner circle very fast. Even though he was a man with power and more money than most, he still sympathized with the people of the backcountry because that was where his property was. It was inevitable that Nathaniel Bacon would eventually ask the Governor for assistance regarding the problems that had been happening in the west but when William Berkeley ignored his plea for help Bacon started to do things on his own. Men of all color started to join him and his ragtag army of men to fight Indians. The Governor was not pleased with this at all and when the group of rebels found out they decided that it was time to revolt against the elites that would not help them. As a result of this the army started to target William Berkeley. In Nathaniel Bacon’s “The Declaration of the People” Bacon writes “And we do further demand, that the said Sir William Berkeley ... be forthwith delivered up ... within four days” (Bacon 51). After this the rebels would go on to be successful at driving out the Elites then suddenly Nathaniel Bacon died of Dysentery and the Elites returned to power. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 3 Lecture Notes) As a result of Bacon’s rebellion there were historic consequences. This event frightened the Elites because they saw that the masses were willing to join together to fight for what they believed was right. Once the common people had their freedoms taken away and they were not able to achieve economic success they were no longer willing to listen to those in power. After the dust had settled many of the rich planters had decided to move toward permanent servitude that way they could control a group of people without legal restraints. Now that African slavery had become the majority the poor whites and the rich whites had less tension between each other because they both had something in common. This was the very birth of white supremacy. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 3 Lecture Notes) The second influential rebellion in early American history was Shays’ Rebellion. This mutiny broke out in Massachusetts in 1786. Recently the American people had just fought and won the Revolutionary War against the British. However, like many wars there are always good and bad consequences. As a result of the war, the country found itself in a massive debt on both a state and federal level. Trade embargoes started to deeply affect the American economy. This economic depression led to the heavy taxation of the moderate income home which in turn caused widespread foreclosures because property owners were not able to pay off their debts. By the summer of 1876, crowds of commoners began to halt foreclosures by forcibly blocking courts from holding their sessions. Daniel Shays; who was a veteran from the continental army, became the face of the movement and soon the revolts started to spread amongst farmers and commoners who feared that their homes would be taken away and their businesses would be ended. In a letter addressed to the Hampshire Herald, Thomas Grover lays out a plan on how to properly handle the payment of debts. One of the suggestions consisted of “5th Let the monies arising from impost and excise be appropriated to discharge the foreign debt.” (Hampshire Herald) and also “6th Let that act, passed by the General Court last July by a small majority of only seven, called the Supplementary Act, for twenty-five years to come, be repealed.” (Hampshire Herald). (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 6 Lecture Notes) The Articles of Confederation seemed to not be the proper outline for the government due to this. In effect, Shays’ Rebellion ended up being a prime example of how little power the Federal government had compared to the State. The people of Massachusetts would end up switching to a Nationalist view on politics and the revision of the Articles of Confederation would ensue. Thus, the birth of the United States Constitution occurs. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 6 Lecture Notes) Finally, the last important rebellion of early American history was The Whiskey Rebellion.
Alexander Hamilton had been given the job as Secretary of the Treasury by President George Washington. Hamilton was now in charge of fixing the United States economy which was still looking to pay off debts. In an attempt to gain the vote to get his legislation passed, he wanted to assume the debt of both the State and Federal government. With this new plan would come the raising of taxes on the common person and the dreaded excise tax on whiskey would spark riots. In western Pennsylvania whiskey was the cash crop of many yeoman farmers. In order to cut down on wasting food, the farmers of the backcountry would take the extra corn that they raised and would distill it into whiskey. The process of distilling also helped when transporting goods. Despite Hamilton’s stubbornness to enforce the law, riots quickly broke out along the frontier. The farmers began to refuse excise officers any payment and even went as far as burning down the properties of those that complied with the officers and payed the tax. Tensions started to peak when 500 militiamen near Pittsburgh marched on an unpopular collector John Neville. This specific event left two killed and six injured. A couple of months later President Washington ordered 12,000 men to march on the rebels in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Maryland to finally end the outburst. He offered amnesty to anyone who pledged their support to the government and jail time to anyone who did not accept. In his proclamation to the people he writes “...do hereby command all persons, being insurgents, as aforesaid, and all others whom it may concern, on or before the 1st day of September next to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes.”(Washington 67). Ultimately only two of the whiskey rebels were convicted and then pardoned by the President. The Whiskey Rebellion had finally come to an end. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson,
et. al. 19)(Week 7 Lecture Notes) Many historians believe that this rebellion was the first big test for the federal government. Unlike Shays’ Rebellion which helped lead to the downfall of the Articles of Confederation, The Whiskey Rebellion was successful at showing the strength of the Central government and the Constitution. Washington was able to set a precedent to the people of the United States that showed they must adhere to the constitution if they wanted to live in America. (Murrin, Hamalainen, Johnson, et. al. 19)(Week 7 Lecture Notes) Without these three rebellions the course of history may be drastically different. Bacon’s rebellion was responsible for causing one of the darkest subjects in American history; chattel slavery. Signs of systemic racism and mistreatment are still visible up to this very day. Shays’ rebellion made our forefathers revisit the Articles of Confederation and ask themselves whether or not they thought it would be able to sustain a prosperous union. And finally the Whiskey Rebellion was able to show the strength of the federal government that had taken power in the new Constitution of the United States. Works Cited Bacon, Nathaniel. “Nathaniel Bacon on Bacon’s Rebellion,” in Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History, Volume 1, Third Edition, Eric Foner (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2011). Murrin, John M., Hamalainen, Pekka, Johnson, John, and others, Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, Volume 1 to 1877, Seventh Edition (Boston, MA: Cengage Learning, 2017). Washington, George. ““President George Washington Suppresses the Whiskey Rebellion,” in Major Problems in the Early Republic, 1787 – 1848, Sean Wilentz (Lexington, MA: D.C. Health & Company, 1992). Young, Dr. H. Roger. "Bacon’s Rebellion” United States to 1865. HIS 101-102. Rowan College at Burlington County, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, April 8, 2018. Young, Dr. H. Roger. "Shays’ Rebellion” United States to 1865. HIS 101-102. Rowan College at Burlington County, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, April 8, 2018. Young, Dr. H. Roger. "The Whiskey Rebellion” United States to 1865. HIS 101-102. Rowan College at Burlington County, Mount Laurel, New Jersey, April 8, 2018.
Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War and the Pequot War were similar in that there were conflicts with Natives over land, however they differed in the ways the wars were carried out and the results of the wars. Bacon’s rebellion was a result of the poorer classes moving west to cultivate land, however they encountered natives and the governor refused to protect them. Likewise the Pequot war was a direct effect of puritans moving westward, additionally all three wars resulted in the colonists as victors. During King Phillip’s war the natives destroyed a fifth of the towns in Masseuses and Rhode Island in contrast to the other wars where the natives did not cause as much damage to the colonists. Bacon’s Rebellion was significant because afterwards
In the Chesapeake region, Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676 led to major changes. This rebellion involved indentured servants revolting against the system, which put an end to indentured servitude and nearly annihilated the city of Jamestown. The servants believed their natural rights had been violated, so they rose up in revolution. As landowners began to fear mutinous servants, the plantation system expanded significantly. This relied heavily on the use of slaves from Africa, and greatly sped up the production of cash crops in the region.
The Shays Rebellion were series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers. However, protests began before Shays Rebellion, the Massachusetts protest convention, circa of 1780 is a prime example of this, “...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers....”.(B) Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. Unlike many other state legislatures in the 1780s, the Massachusetts government didn't respond to the economic crisis . As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison.These conditions led to the first major armed rebellion in the post-Revolutionary United States called Shays Rebellion. Anti-Federalist were primality poor uneducated farmers. An exception of a the poor Anti Federalist stereotype is George Mason, whom is a huge political influence of the Bill of Rights, exploits his ideology in his Virginia Bill of Rights “That
James D. Rice’s Tales From a Revolution is perhaps one of the most important works on early Colonial America. This concise and informative narrative focuses on an important event in American History that has simply been overlooked by many Americans and historians, Bacon’s Rebellion, which occurred in 1676. This revolt played a significant role in the course of history at a pivotal time in early America. Rice focuses on much more than the actual revolt, giving a very vivid and easy to comprehend overview of the occurrences that took place before, during, and after this climactic and transformative event in history that would be one of the first of many rebellions and revolutions that would gradually pave the way for the foundation of America.
...able behavior far different from that of rebellion.” The colonists held their tongues as long as they could, but in 1676, their frustration grew too strong. Bacon and a thousand Virginians rebelled and overthrew the governor, in what is known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, Bacon died, and Governor Berkeley returned and viciously crushed the brigands.
Before the American Revolution, there were social and economic changes which upset frontiersmen. They became agitated due to their social situation with Indians and their failing local government. In response to these annoyances, frontiersmen chose to use violence to achieve their demands. During this period of civil unrest, two attempted revolutions in particular made national headlines: The March of the Paxton Boys and The Regulator Movement. The movements differed because the Paxton Boys demanded social change while the Regulator Movement called for economic change. Both revolutions were similar because they used violence as a way to achieve their demands. The Paxton Boys rallied around the concept of retaliation against Indians; The
Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppressed by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
During the years of 1675 and 1676 the North American colonies experienced conflicts that shaped the dynamics of their colonial life. King Phillip's War would effectively end relations between the New England colonists and the Indians. Also, the rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon stressed the growing discontent of poor frontier farmers for British rule. The consequences of these two events clearly had an impact on different levels that would extend well beyond their time. Therefore, the years 1675 and 1676 played a very significant role in the Northern American colonies.
The whiskey Rebellion Witten by Thomas P. Slaughter talks bout a rebellion that setup a precedent in American history. It gives us the opportunity to really comprehend this rebellion that thanks to fast action from the Federal government didn’t escalate to a more serious problem like civil war. The book the Whiskey Rebellion frontier of the epilogue to the American Revolution captures the importance and drama of the rebellion. The book is divided into three sections context, chronology and sequence. In the first section Slaughter explain the reason why the taxes was needed in the first place. According to Anthony Brandt in his article of American history name “Rye Whiskey, RYE Whiskey” Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the
Another extremely important issue Washington faced was that of the Whiskey Rebellion. The whisky rebellion started when a tax was placed upon distilled liquor. The farmers of Pennsylvania completely infuriated at the taxed because Whisky was their most profitable product and their form of money. In 1794, they set up an armed uprising against the taxes. Alarmed by the attack, and following Hamilton’s advice, Washington sent over 12,000 troops into Pennsylvania for peace keeping. This was the first time a national militia was ever used in the new country. Washington’s decision proved to the people that Congress finally had th...
The American Revolution was sparked by a myriad of causes. These causes in themselves could not have sparked such a massive rebellion in the nation, but as the problems of the colonies cumulated, their collective impact spilt over and the American Revolution ensued. Many say that this war could have been easily avoided and was poorly handled by both sides, British and American; but as one will see, the frame of thought of the colonists was poorly suited to accept British measures which sought to “overstep” it’s power in the Americas. Because of this mindset, colonists developed a deep resentment of British rule and policies; and as events culminated, there was no means to avoid revolution and no way to turn back.
Many revolutions have taken place throughout history, ranging from the unremarkable to the truly memorable, such as the French Revolution, the Bolshevik Revolution and the American Revolution. Through an examination of the social, cultural, economic and political causes of the American Revolution, an exploration of key arguments both for and against the American Revolution, and an analysis of the social, cultural, economic and political changes brought about by the American Revolution it can be demonstrated unequivocally that the American Revolution was indeed truly revolutionary.
The American citizens took matters into their own hands and decided to rebel. Although the rebellion against the leaders of the U.S. was nationwide, most of it started on college campuses. One of the first groups known to take a stand was a group of college students that joined forces. They called themselves the Students for a Democratic Society. This group contributed greatly to the expansion of the movement...
The first amendment reserves Americans the right to have freedom of speech and but it explicitly states peaceful protest . The frontiersmen were anything but peaceful, the destroyed property and notoriously tarred and feathered tax collectors. The last straw for President Washing was when the rebels attacked his newly appointed collector John Neville and burned his home to the ground. He then publicly proclaimed on the 25th of September 1794 on the cover of the Connecticut Newspaper “Those, therefore, who preach doctrines, or set examples, which undermine or subvert the authority of the laws, lead us from freedom to slavery; they incapacitate us for a government of laws and consequently prepare the way for one of force, for mankind must have government of one sort or another.” Washington gathered a militia of 13,000 men with Secretary Hamilton at his side he rode into Pittsburgh, the rebels dispersed and Washington chose to grant the majority of them amnesty. This was a good call for Washington because he realized the nation was at political crossroads and he could have caused more political division between the anti-Federalists and the