185

RESPONSE TO SHAYS'S REBELLION

Edward Rawson.

Instructions of the Town of Leicester to their Representatives.

Leicester, MA, 25 May 1787
3 manuscript pages, 12¾ x 8 inches, on one sheet; worn with loss to a couple of letters, skillfully silked at an early date, lays flat and does not fold. 

  • Notes: These instructions were sent by the central Massachusetts town of Leicester to their representative in the state legislature, shortly after the dramatic events of Shays's Rebellion not far to the west. Arranged into 13 points, they reflect a town that condemned the lawlessness of the rebellion, but shared the rebels' frustration with high taxes.

    The preamble asks that the legislature "attend to the enacting such laws as may alleviate the present distresses of the people, reconcile their opinions, and restore tranquility to the state." The first point condemns "the late outragious opisition to government demands," and pronounces that "the late pardon to the insurgents was truly humane." Secondly, they declare that "the present mode of taxation has become so burthensome to the farming interest" and hopes that revenue could be "rais'd by duties upon foreign luxuries." They also hope that the state capital can be relocated from Boston, and that the state begin printing its own coinage. In conclusion, they hope that "this embarresed American Israel may know what they aught to do in such a day as this, that they may become a holy and a happy people." 

    The instructions were drafted "per order" by Edward Rawson (1721-1807) of Leicester and presented for approval at a town meeting. This transcript of his instructions was sent by town clerk Austin Flint. The recipient was Colonel Samuel Denny, who had served in the Revolution and had recently helped to suppress Shays's rebellion. 
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