Rebellions have always been prominent in America; most recently the Ferguson riots in Missouri. These citizens are rebelling against American police, because they believe blacks aren’t treated with the same respect than white people. Although, The first recorded rebellion that occurred in America is known as the Bacon’s Rebellion. A rebellion against the English government by a man named Nathaniel Bacon. Nathaniel Bacon was brought up as a moderately rich and powerful man. He was known as a “young, bold, active, of an inviting aspect, and powerful elocution” (Beverley pg. 2). Nathaniel Bacon can be remembered as a hero for leading a lower class against a “corrupt” government and creating unity between communities, but it also can be argued …show more content…
Bacon managed to unite communities to rise up against the unscrupulous government. Starting with the build up of this rebellion, a close acquaintance of Berkeley, Robert Beverley, praises Berkeley highly and claims that he was exceedingly loved and respected by writing, “a governor… whom they all entirely loved, and unanimously chosen; a gentleman who had devoted his whole life and estate to the service of the county…” (Beverly pg. 1). Berkeley was voted into office, but only the gentry, the high social class, could vote. Therefore the lower class could possibly not have been in support of Berkeley, but their distaste was not discovered, because they were not able to vote against him. Some of the reasons the citizens started to become unhappy with Berkeley included the severe low prices of tobacco. This also included the extreme mercantilism by the English government. Another reason included the contradictions between the original charters and new proprieties given by the King. This led to great taxation upon the tobacco farmers and especially the poorest people. The Indians disturbance also aggravated the Virginian citizens and they even accused the government of protecting and favoring the Indians over …show more content…
Bacon’s men set the entire town of Jamestown on fire as defiance. The two sides fought for months, destroying Virginia and the environment. Many people were taken prisoner and/or killed. This led to the destruction of farms and animals, so a great famine started. The rebellion promptly stopped when Bacon died of natural causes. It is unknown whether the rebellion ended because the loss of a prominent leader or other reasons. News of the rebellion reached England and the King sent soldiers over to Virginia, but the rebellion had already disappeared. Berkeley was transferred back to England, but soon died of illness after he
Bacon’s Rebellion, King Phillip’s War and the Pequot War were similar in that there were conflicts with Natives over land, however they differed in the ways the wars were carried out and the results of the wars. Bacon’s rebellion was a result of the poorer classes moving west to cultivate land, however they encountered natives and the governor refused to protect them. Likewise the Pequot war was a direct effect of puritans moving westward, additionally all three wars resulted in the colonists as victors. During King Phillip’s war the natives destroyed a fifth of the towns in Masseuses and Rhode Island in contrast to the other wars where the natives did not cause as much damage to the colonists. Bacon’s Rebellion was significant because afterwards
Shays’ rebellion originated from a small group of farmers from Massachusetts fighting against high taxes. These farmers organized their resistance in ways similar to the American Revolutionary War. They called special meetings of the people to protest conditions. They even agreed on coordinated protests involving themselves and other people. The rebels closed courts by force in the fall of 1786 and liberated other imprisoned farmers who would be sympathetic to the rebels’ cause. Later on, the petty revolts flared into fully fledged revolts once the rebels came under the leadership of Daniel Shays. Shays was a general in the Continental Army that fought against the British during the American Revolutionary War; this is why the rebels had similar tactics that were used against the British. The...
Nathaniel thought that the government did not provide them with any protection, and this really upset him. It upset Bacon so much that he decided to create an angry mob to burn Jamestown and neighboring Indian settlements to the ground in protest. In other words, he had a temper tantrum.
In the Chesapeake region, Bacon’s Rebellion of 1676 led to major changes. This rebellion involved indentured servants revolting against the system, which put an end to indentured servitude and nearly annihilated the city of Jamestown. The servants believed their natural rights had been violated, so they rose up in revolution. As landowners began to fear mutinous servants, the plantation system expanded significantly. This relied heavily on the use of slaves from Africa, and greatly sped up the production of cash crops in the region.
The Shays Rebellion were series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers. However, protests began before Shays Rebellion, the Massachusetts protest convention, circa of 1780 is a prime example of this, “...The great men are going to get all we have and I think it is time for us to rise and put a stop to it, and have no more courts, nor sheriffs, nor collectors nor lawyers....”.(B) Many farmers in this area suffered from high debt as they tried to start new farms. Unlike many other state legislatures in the 1780s, the Massachusetts government didn't respond to the economic crisis . As a result local sheriffs seized many farms and some farmers who couldn't pay their debts were put in prison.These conditions led to the first major armed rebellion in the post-Revolutionary United States called Shays Rebellion. Anti-Federalist were primality poor uneducated farmers. An exception of a the poor Anti Federalist stereotype is George Mason, whom is a huge political influence of the Bill of Rights, exploits his ideology in his Virginia Bill of Rights “That
He accused Bacon of being an Atheist and a Rebel who tried to rid the Colony of “Religion and Laws”(Governor William Berkely on Bacon's Rebellion 19 May 1676.). According to Berkeley, Bacon thought that the laws were beneath him and has constantly “dishonor[ed] the English Nation” (Governor William Berkely on Bacon's Rebellion 19 May 1676.). William Berkeley did all that he could to tarnish Bacon and his accusations.
Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppressed by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government.
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
There are many situations in life where a rebellion is required for improvement. For instance, the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s War, Shay’s Rebellion, and Bacon’s Rebellion all had the same idea in common, they all wanted change. They all wanted to improve America’s society. The tactic in each rebellion was different, the motives were different, and not all the outcomes were successful. All of these rebellions also had unobvious internal struggles which either weaken or strengthen them. It is likely that Bacon’s Rebellion could have been avoided because it did not leave a positive impact on America’s society. Although, if the Stono Rebellion, Pontiac’s war, and Shay’s Rebellion never occurred the government would not be
During the years of 1675 and 1676 the North American colonies experienced conflicts that shaped the dynamics of their colonial life. King Phillip's War would effectively end relations between the New England colonists and the Indians. Also, the rebellion in Virginia led by Nathaniel Bacon stressed the growing discontent of poor frontier farmers for British rule. The consequences of these two events clearly had an impact on different levels that would extend well beyond their time. Therefore, the years 1675 and 1676 played a very significant role in the Northern American colonies.
...able behavior far different from that of rebellion.” The colonists held their tongues as long as they could, but in 1676, their frustration grew too strong. Bacon and a thousand Virginians rebelled and overthrew the governor, in what is known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, Bacon died, and Governor Berkeley returned and viciously crushed the brigands.
...owners holding too much political and economic power, as personified by Governor Berkeley. Thus the landless, freed indentured servants revolted in 1676 in Bacon's Rebellion, as is stated in Bacon's Manifesto symbolizing the conflict in Virginia between its aristocratic and poor inhabitants of the back county over the aristocracy's concentration of power and refusal to help those living in the frontier.
The slave revolt that took place in Southampton, Virginia and this was when black slaves overthrew their white masters. This was done out of deep hatred to the way blacks have been treated at that point in American history. Nat Turner was supposedly the leader of the slave rebellion. He was said to be the mastermind, coordinator, and encourager behind the
Bacon’s Rebellion was a revolt by poor farmers against both the aristocracy of the Jamestown settlement and the frontier Native Americans. The rebellion can be described as both anti-aristocratic and anti-Native American. Severe social and racial tensions and conflicts led to the outbreak of rebellion.
James D. Rice’s Tales From a Revolution is perhaps one of the most important works on early Colonial America. This concise and informative narrative focuses on an important event in American History that has simply been overlooked by many Americans and historians, Bacon’s Rebellion, which occurred in 1676. This revolt played a significant role in the course of history at a pivotal time in early America. Rice focuses on much more than the actual revolt, giving a very vivid and easy to comprehend overview of the occurrences that took place before, during, and after this climactic and transformative event in history that would be one of the first of many rebellions and revolutions that would gradually pave the way for the foundation of America.