Wednesday 22nd May 2013 10:39 PM

September 26, 1786 - Daniel Shay, a former captain in the Continental Army, led a group of farmers in armed protest against taxes imposed by the new state of Massachusetts. A depression that followed the Revolutionary War had left many farmers destitute. The protesters, in what became known as “Shay’s Rebellion,” shut down the court system to prevent judges from foreclosing on farmland. The insurrection was quickly put down by the government, but the rebels did not give up. Instead, the next year they switched to electoral politics, electing John Hancock as governor and putting many new representatives in the Massachusetts Legislature.