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Shay’s Rebellion

Shay’s Rebellion

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Summary
 Shays’ Rebellion — When the People Had EnoughI want to take you back to 1786, just a few years after the American Revolution.The war for independence had been won. The British had been defeated. And the American people were supposed to be free.But something extraordinary was happening in Massachusetts.Farmers, many of whom had fought in the Revolutionary War, were losing their property, their livelihoods, and their freedom.The state government was imposing heavy taxes. Creditors were demanding payment. Courts were issuing judgments. Property was being seized. Men were being imprisoned for debts they could not pay.And who was doing this?Not the British.Their own government!Think about that.These men had fought a war against a government they believed had exceeded its legitimate authority, only to return home and discover that their own state government was using taxation, courts, and the machinery of enforcement to defeat the very freedoms they had fought to secure.And one of those men was Daniel Shays, a former captain in the Continental Army.What became known as Shays’ Rebellion began when farmers and other citizens organized to resist the enforcement of debts and taxes through the Massachusetts courts.They assembled. They protested. They obstructed court proceedings.And eventually, in January 1787, insurgents attempted to seize the federal arsenal at Springfield.The Massachusetts militia confronted them. Four insurgents were killed. The rebellion was ultimately suppressed.Now, I am not suggesting that Americans today should take up arms or forcibly obstruct the courts.But I am asking you to consider what produced that rebellion in the first place.What happens when the people believe their government has become an instrument of oppression rather than a protector of their rights and freedoms?What happens when taxation, property seizures, judicial proceedings, and governmental enforcement become so burdensome that ordinary people can no longer defend themselves?And what happens when the institutions supposedly established to protect the people become the very institutions from which the people believe they need protection?Does any of this sound familiar?Now consider something else.The Founders themselves disagreed about what Shays’ Rebellion represented.George Washington regarded the uprising as evidence of dangerous instability and the weakness of the government under the Articles of Confederation.Thomas Jefferson, however, writing to James Madison in January 1787, observed:“A little rebellion now and then is a good thing.”Jefferson understood something fundamental about the relationship between government and the governed.Government must never become so insulated from the people that it forgets the source of its authority.And here is the extraordinary irony.Shays’ Rebellion helped strengthen the movement toward the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and the establishment of a stronger federal government.But the underlying grievance deserves just as much attention as the governmental response.Why had Americans who had only recently fought for independence come to believe that their own government was violating the freedoms for which they had sacrificed?And what does that tell us about the danger of governmental power, even when exercised by officials who claim to represent the people?Now, nearly two and a half centuries later, Americans continue to confront taxation, property seizures, administrative penalties, governmental enforcement, and judicial proceedings that can consume years of their lives and thousands of dollars.And when they believe their constitutional rights have been violated, what are they told?Hire an attorney.File a lawsuit.Spend years in court.Spend thousands, perhaps tens of thousands, of dollars.And perhaps, eventually, you will obtain a remedy.But why should the people have to endure the violation of their rights before the machinery of government is compelled to answer for its conduct?Why should constitutional accountability depend upon whether an ordinary American can afford years of litigation?And why should the burden fall almost entirely upon the individual whose rights have allegedly been violated?This brings me to ConstitutionalCounty.org.Because I am suggesting that the answer is a rebellion of a different sort.It is not another elaborate theory about government.And it is not another promise that some future president, Congress, or governor will restore the American Republic.It is about restoring constitutional accountability where the people live.In their counties.In their communities.Through an independently elected sheriff who understands the Constitution, honors his oath, and possesses the moral courage to exercise the lawful authority of his office in defense of the rights and freedoms of the people.Supported by an informed community that understands those same constitutional limitations.And equipped with a disciplined method, such as the Liberty ...
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