Shay’s Rebellion and the
Constitution by Mary Hull, 2000, Excerpts
In addition to the chain of debt, taxes had been increasing
in Massachusetts since 1776, and after the revolution they increased
dramatically as Massachusetts tried to pay off its war debt. Worse, these taxes
now had to be paid in gold and silver, not paper money or goods.
This was an especially terrible blow to yeoman, who
preferred to pay their taxes with labor rather than with cash. Previously,
yeomen worked out their highway taxes by fixing and improving the roads, rather
than paying cash. People now had to come up with gold or silver, not paper
money or goods, to pay their taxes.
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