Talk:Daniel Shays

Correction

Corrected entry to read Massachusetts, not New Jersey. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Amystevens (talk • contribs) 18:55, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

Impact

Replaced "No actual fighting took place during the incident, but tensions quickly escalated." With "Four men were killed - the first casualties of the rebellion - and many were wounded." From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shays_Rebellion AmyStevens — Preceding undated comment added 19:20, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

I think we need a better source than Wikipedia for that. Hopefully someone can find one. That our own articles are the source of all the top hits for "Killed" and "shays" in Google is not a very promising sign. - Nunh-huh 19:26, 24 April 2006 (UTC)

David P. Szatmary, Shays' Rebellion: The Making of an Agrarian Insurrection. "In desperation the militamen then aimed two cannons directly at the rebels and fired fourteen or fifteen rounds of grapeshot into their ranks. When the smoke cleared, the blood of four dead and twenty wounded farmers stained the snow-covered ground around the arsenal as the bulk of the farmers retreated from Springfield to nearby towns." p. 102 — Preceding unsigned comment added by Amystevens (talk • contribs) 19:09, 3 May 2006 (UTC)

Suggestions

It would be nice if his reasons for fighting were covered better. The comment at the end about the principles of the revolutionary war and the rebellion being the same is confusing because we aren't told what those principles are! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.137.220.64 (talk) 06:21, 4 June 2006 (UTC)

Yes, and it would be nicer if you actually told like a summary about the story. Exmaples like" Who, What, When, Where, How, and why. This would be more useful for students!!! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.186.249.176 (talk) 00:53, 17 November 2006 (UTC)

I like this Page...and it was very helpful! — Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.0.196.12 (talk) 00:18, 4 April 2008 (UTC)

Significance of date?

The article begins with 'Daniel Shays, January 25, 1787." This is presumably the date on the assault on the Springfield arsenal but as it is, there is no indication whatsoever what the significance of this date is. Also, there is no mention of Shays' date of birth in the article. I have found articles which say it is 1747. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.61.153.152 (talk) 17:08, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Fix vandalism

I detest these no-talent assclowns who have nothing better to do than vandalize wikipedia. will someone please fix this? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 130.184.85.27 (talk) 08:51, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

US 202

A section of US 202 in Massachusetts is labeled as the Daniel Shays Highway ([1]). Is this worth adding to the text of the article? ows (talk) —Preceding undated comment was added at 03:30, 14 December 2008 (UTC).

Birthplace

Here is some evidence that he was actually born in Holliston, MA - not Hopkinton (http://books.google.com/books?id=OmgUAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA1-PR15&dq=holliston+indians+massachusett+nipmuc&ei=6aL0SeHDH5LgywTP-JCxDA). Don't know much else, unfortunately. Martin.fish (talk) 18:14, 26 April 2009 (UTC)

Images not linked at article head

There's a formatting mistake concerning images which I lack the expertise to fix: Miscoded image links. (Viewing in Beta). Infoaddicted (talk) 05:25, 25 January 2010 (UTC)

Constitution?

Article states he is "well-remembered for his role in the creation of the Constitution." as of Oct 11 2010. I think it is more accurate to say "participation in the American Revolution." EtherDoc (talk) 12:39, 11 October 2010 (UTC)

That role would presumably be that the Constitution was intended to stop such rebellions. But this will have to be deleted if it stays unsourced I think. --Mujokan (talk) 00:11, 2 November 2010 (UTC)

Bly and Rose were hung for burglary not treason. There was no Constitution at the time and local and what masqueraded as a federal government were riding roughshod - their personal whims - and many were getting mad and scared - tax the poor to run the government, build the roads, raise the army, etc. Sounds like 13 Fergusons. The executions look more like lynching to scare the rabble back into their natural position - read the local minister's sermon. 2601:181:8301:4510:38BF:F5BD:678F:8AC7 (talk) 13:33, 1 May 2018 (UTC)

Irish Catholic?

Where is the citation for the claim that his parents were Catholic? Most colonial Irish emigrants were Protestant, either upon arrival or conversion.Jonathan f1 (talk) 16:01, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

According to this source, Shays' father was Anglican. I have edited accordingly. Magic♪piano 12:50, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

ThanksJonathan f1 (talk) 16:01, 29 March 2019 (UTC)

@Magicpiano:I just noticed that some editor again changed the text back to "Irish Catholic" without a source. This is getting a little ridiculous.Jonathan f1 (talk) 14:24, 26 November 2021 (UTC)

Battle of Lexington?

The article claims that Shays fought at "The Battle of Lexington." This is an extraordinary claim, with no citation supporting it. The militia and minutemen of Lexington were the entire force on the Colonial side at the Battle of Lexington. If you take a larger view, including the rest of the day, the entire Colonial force at the Battle of Concord consisted of militias and minutemen companies from Concord, Lincoln, Bedford, and Acton. The series of afternoon engagements on the Battle Road (in Concord, Lincoln, Lexington, and Menotomy) drew fighters from farther afield, but there's no record of anyone from as far afield as Brookfield, where Shays was living at the time. It's exceedingly unlikely that Shays participated in the battle(s) of April 19, 1775, in Lexington, Concord, and the Battle Road. It really would require some actual evidence from a reliable source to support such an extraordinary claim. 174.196.194.133 (talk) 15:37, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

See if the updates I made today are an improvement. I added details and references. Billmckern (talk) 16:51, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Thank you. I will edit the "Shays' Rebellion" page as well. 174.196.194.133 (talk) 21:15, 19 September 2022 (UTC)

Shays joining the militia

"Shays joined the militia immediately prior to the American Revolution and attained the rank of sergeant in the regiment commanded by Benjamin R. Woodbridge."

The cited reference for this (Butz) says that Daniel Shays's father enlisted in the militia in 1775 at the age of 50, but it does not say actually say anything about when Daniel Shays enlisted.

But the work's accuracy can be questioned, as the law in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, dating back to the 1760's, required all able bodied men aged 16-60 to serve in their local town's militia. The work described militias being formed and men enlisting in the 1770's, when in fact, the miltias were already in existence, and men were automatically enlisted at age 16, unless they were unfit. In 1775, both Shays and his father would have already been serving in an existing militia in their town(s) of residence. 172.58.223.159 (talk) 19:03, 7 February 2023 (UTC)