The Rebellious History of America, Part 2: Rebellions Under the Articles of Confederation

The greatest rebellion in colonial America was the Revolution that secured the independence of the united States of America from Great Britain.   The lowercase "united" in the preceding sentence is deliberate as this was how it was rendered in the Declaration of Independence which also stated:

That these United Colonies are, and of Right ought to be Free and Independent States; that they are Absolved from all Allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the State of Great Britain, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as Free and Independent States, they have full Power to levy War, conclude Peace, contract Alliances, establish Commerce, and to do all other Acts and Things which Independent States may of right do.

In Eighteenth Century parlance, a state was a nation. When the American colonies declared their independence, they did so as a confederation of separate countries represented by Congress assembled. to achieve a successful peace with Great Britain. The Declaration of Independence enumerated their grievances and established the legitimacy necessary to pursue commercial and diplomatic relationships with other nations.  The Articles of Confederation were drafted in 1777 to protect the sovereignty of the states and define the powers delegated to Congress; this became the form of government employed by the Second Continental Congress, known as the Congress of the Confederation after the Articles were ratified by all of the states on March 1, 1781.

Under the Articles of Confederation, primary authority was vested in Congress and there were no executive and judicial branches of government.  Congress had no power of taxation, states determined their own trade policies, and Congress directly controlled the military only in times of war.  These limitations contributed to privations for the Army and inflated fiat currency since the states did not always provide requested funds; made commercial and foreign policy cumbersome to execute; continued British occupation of forts following the War due to delays implementing the Treaty of Paris; and led to questions regarding how war debts accumulated by states and the national government would be repaid.  The first rebellions in the new nation were influenced by a difficult economy marked by a shortage of hard currency and Congress' inability to fulfill obligations to soldiers and veterans.

The Battle of "Fort Wilson"

In 1779, Philadelphia was taken, then abandoned by the British.  In the midst of food shortages, Continental paper currency was nearly worthless, and public sentiment was against pacifistic Quakers and wealthy merchants.  A radical "Constitution Party", influenced by Rousseau, developed in opposition to the wealthy Robert Morris, a Representative accused of war profiteering who would ultimately become the Superintendent of Finance. Disorder was prevalent and militia roamed the streets.  On October 4, when the militia began harassing four Quakers, Morris and John Cadwalader tried to get them to disperse and were compelled to take refuge, with other leading citizens, at the home of James Wilson, a lawyer hated for defending Tories. The home, which became known as "Fort Wilson", was fired upon and Joseph Reed, the President of Pennsylvania and Timothy Matlack, the Secretary of the Supreme Executive Council, both of whom were also radicals, arrived and directed a cavalry charge that dispersed the militia.  Reed pardoned those who had been involved in the attack on "Fort Wilson" and Morris lost the following election.

The Groton Riots

Despite shortages of hard currency, Massachusetts imposed taxes payable in silver and demanded £840 from the town of Groton.  In October of 1781, Job Shattuck, a large land owner, respected militia captain, and member of the Board of Selectmen convinced the town meeting to oppose the tax.  He and seventeen others then obstructed the efforts of constables charged with collecting the tax and he again harassed tax collectors in 1783.  Shattuck was fined £10 for his role in the riots.

The Newburgh Conspiracy

The Newburgh Conspiracy was an attempt to use dissatisfaction in the Continental Army to provoke an event that would secure more power for Congress.  It is worthy of mentioning for, had it proven successful, it could have undone the American victory at Yorktown and provoked civil war.  In 1780, Congress promised officers in the Continental Army a pension of half pay for life and by 1782, Army pay was suspended by Superintendent of Finance, Robert Morris because the treasury was empty.  An impost to raise funds to prosecute the war was rejected by the states in November and by December, the Army was demoralized. Officers led by General Henry Knox sent a memorial to Congress expressing dissatisfaction over lack of pay and concern that the pension would not be honored. Congress established a committee to address it and Morris indicated that funds were not available. Nationalists such as Morris, Gouverneur Morris, and Alexander Hamilton saw a mutiny as a way to gain Congress the power to directly tax the states and they enlisted the aid of General Horatio Gates who, as second in command, had long been disgruntled with Washington.  Anonymous, incendiary messages were written by Major John Armstrong, Gates' Aide de Camp, and circulated through New Windsor Cantonment, the Army's winter quarters at Newburgh, New York.  They called for an assembly of officers, recommended violent redress, and leaving the field to the British. Washington considered the letters disorderly and commanded a meeting on March 15, and admonished officers to consider the latest report on Congressional action.  At the meeting, he issued a moving address that renewed their confidence in Congress and averted crisis.

The Philadelphia Mutiny

On June 13, 1783, the Treaty of Paris was in negotiation to end America's war with Great Britain and the Pennsylvania Line was furloughed rather than disbanded, indefinitely delaying back pay and land bounties in a hard economic climate. Soldiers in Philadelphia began demanding payment for their service and they were soon joined by soldiers from Lancaster. On June 21, 1783, they assembled at the State House to present their grievances to the Pennsylvania Executive Council. Elias Boudinot, the President of Congress, called a meeting of Congress but could not reach a quorum, perhaps because the soldiers had surrounded the building. Congress asked the Pennsylvania Executive Council to call out the militia, the request was refused, and when they left the building, they were insulted by the soldiers.  On June 22, Congress fled to Princeton and did not return to Philadelphia until 1790.

Shays' Rebellion

The end of the Revolution did not stop the economic plight that faced America. Soldiers returned home penniless with only promises of compensation and the new country was in the midst of an economic depression. In Massachusetts, merchants quit extending credit and demanded hard currency in lieu of worthless paper money; the State increased property taxes to defray war debts; and western farmers, many of whom were veterans, faced foreclosure and debtor's prison.  Daniel Shays, a former captain in the 5th Massachusetts Regiment was one of these farmers. On August 29, 1786, protesters including Shays, outraged by the economic conditions and subsequent loss of property, assembled at Northampton, prevented the county court from meeting, and dubbed themselves "Regulators".  In September, the court in Worcester was disrupted and the militia refused to respond; a demonstration of 1,200 Regulators led by Shays and Luke Day compelled the adjournment of the court in Springfield; and a group of 200 led by Job Shattuck, the instigator of the Groton Riots, closed the court at Concord.  A riot act was passed, habeas corpus suspended, warrants were issued for protesters, and Job Shattuck was arrested on November 20.  In January, Governor James Bowdoin raised a private militia after Congress proved unable to do so because funds were unavailable.  The Regulators determined to attack the armory at Springfield and when they approached on January 25, 1787, they were met by militia commanded by General William Shepard.  The rebels were dispersed following an artillery attack that killed four and wounded twenty, causing Shepard to become known as a "murderer of Brethren". Most rebels received amnesty or were granted pardons by the generous John Hancock, who succeeded Bowdoin as governor; taxes were lowered and the collection of debts was delayed.  Shays' Rebellion and Congress' inability to respond to influenced support for stronger, more effective central government. On February 21, a convention of state delegates was called to revise the Articles of Confederation, leading to the Constitutional Convention that began deliberating on May 25.

Read Part 1