Artful and Designing Men by Gary Shattuck
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Artful and Designing Men by Gary Shattuck
Artful and Designing Men: The Trials of Job Shattuck and the Regulation of 1786– 1787. Gary Shattuck. Mustang, OK: Tate Publishing, 2013. 411 pages. $29.99 (paperback).
Artful and Designing Men will be a revelation for even the most zealous of Shays’ Rebellion enthusiasts. They will be presented with new material concerning the trial of Job Shattuck, who was the initial, and arguably the most prominent, leader of the movement. Penned by first-time author Gary Shattuck, a direct descendent of Job, this book presents an exposé of the harsh economic realities that drove the farmers of Massachusetts to the grave acts that they were eventually forced to undertake. This work started as a genealogical project and blossomed into a highly readable account of a major figure of the Regulation of 1786-1787. In the course of his research, the author unearthed previously unreported eyewitness testimony and a Supreme Judicial Court justice’s notes on Job Shattuck’s trial. This material, located in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, provides a fresh perspective on the motivations driving the rebellion. The narrative also sheds light on the opposing viewpoint of the ruling establishment that strove so mightily to vilify the participants.
The roots of Shays’ Rebellion compare to the Great Depression in terms of economic consequence but were heightened by eighteenth-century factors. Prolonged economic stagnation, high taxes, and a recently enacted law stipulating the payment of taxes in specie—in coins rather than in paper currency—made it almost impossible for the small farmer to fulfill his debt obligations. Whatever small amounts of money the farmers held were usually in the form of notes and script, essentially made worthless by the new law and by the ravages of inflation. These issues, combined with the use of debtor prison, almost assured that tax obligations could not be met. A farmer could not earn money to pay his debts while wasting away in prison. The inability of the small farmer to pay his taxes inevitably led the hated Court of Common Pleas to take the farmer’s only thing of value: his farm. When a farm was seized, the farmer and his family lost their home, their self-respect, their standing in the community, and, most importantly, their sole means of support. All of this happened in a time when there was no social safety net. Farmers faced not only economic deprivation but also destitution and possibly even starvation. Hence, their desperation led to rebellion.
Initially, they presented demands to the regulators. They requested a delay in Court of Common Pleas proceedings as well as a reduction of taxes and a repeal of the specie payment law. These seemingly reasonable requests were ignored by the governing class. The very same people who had, just a short time before, rebelled against their mother country because of economic grievances, neglected their own people when the situation was reversed and they were in control. As history has shown so many times, some people learn from the mistakes of the past and some people feel compelled to repeat them. Unfortunately in this case the formerly oppressed all too easily assumed the guise of the oppressor, insisting that the letter of the law be followed, regardless of the consequences for their citizens.
In the midst of this economic crisis, Job Shattuck and others took a course of direct action, forcing many courts to close down through mob intimidation. Court proceedings were interrupted via extra-legal means, but no one was killed or injured by the rebels. However, the government response was rather forceful, and Shattuck was injured by a sword during his capture. The true violence of the rebellion was perpetrated by the militia and the long arm of the law, not by the rebels themselves. Nonetheless, the rebels’ rights to habeas corpus were suspended, and they were branded as “traitors.” The author makes a strong case that if the Massachusetts governor had agreed to good faith negotiations from the beginning, violence could have been averted, especially since many of the reforms advocated by the regulators were adopted after the rebellion was crushed. The author strongly asserts that the incident was unnecessary and avoidable if a spirit of reasonableness and tolerance had been adopted by the powers that be from the beginning.
Through the lens of Job Shattuck, this book provides a fascinating window into the reasons that drove the desperate farmers of Massachusetts to seek economic justice in an unstable time. It rescues a major figure of the movement from behind the shadow of the better-known Daniel Shays and corrects some long-held misperceptions concerning the regulators. And it’s a darned good read.
Stephen Donnelly is a consultant for the insurance industry and a Westfield State University alumnus.
Artful and Designing Men will be a revelation for even the most zealous of Shays’ Rebellion enthusiasts. They will be presented with new material concerning the trial of Job Shattuck, who was the initial, and arguably the most prominent, leader of the movement. Penned by first-time author Gary Shattuck, a direct descendent of Job, this book presents an exposé of the harsh economic realities that drove the farmers of Massachusetts to the grave acts that they were eventually forced to undertake. This work started as a genealogical project and blossomed into a highly readable account of a major figure of the Regulation of 1786-1787. In the course of his research, the author unearthed previously unreported eyewitness testimony and a Supreme Judicial Court justice’s notes on Job Shattuck’s trial. This material, located in the archives of the Massachusetts Historical Society, provides a fresh perspective on the motivations driving the rebellion. The narrative also sheds light on the opposing viewpoint of the ruling establishment that strove so mightily to vilify the participants.
The roots of Shays’ Rebellion compare to the Great Depression in terms of economic consequence but were heightened by eighteenth-century factors. Prolonged economic stagnation, high taxes, and a recently enacted law stipulating the payment of taxes in specie—in coins rather than in paper currency—made it almost impossible for the small farmer to fulfill his debt obligations. Whatever small amounts of money the farmers held were usually in the form of notes and script, essentially made worthless by the new law and by the ravages of inflation. These issues, combined with the use of debtor prison, almost assured that tax obligations could not be met. A farmer could not earn money to pay his debts while wasting away in prison. The inability of the small farmer to pay his taxes inevitably led the hated Court of Common Pleas to take the farmer’s only thing of value: his farm. When a farm was seized, the farmer and his family lost their home, their self-respect, their standing in the community, and, most importantly, their sole means of support. All of this happened in a time when there was no social safety net. Farmers faced not only economic deprivation but also destitution and possibly even starvation. Hence, their desperation led to rebellion.
Initially, they presented demands to the regulators. They requested a delay in Court of Common Pleas proceedings as well as a reduction of taxes and a repeal of the specie payment law. These seemingly reasonable requests were ignored by the governing class. The very same people who had, just a short time before, rebelled against their mother country because of economic grievances, neglected their own people when the situation was reversed and they were in control. As history has shown so many times, some people learn from the mistakes of the past and some people feel compelled to repeat them. Unfortunately in this case the formerly oppressed all too easily assumed the guise of the oppressor, insisting that the letter of the law be followed, regardless of the consequences for their citizens.
In the midst of this economic crisis, Job Shattuck and others took a course of direct action, forcing many courts to close down through mob intimidation. Court proceedings were interrupted via extra-legal means, but no one was killed or injured by the rebels. However, the government response was rather forceful, and Shattuck was injured by a sword during his capture. The true violence of the rebellion was perpetrated by the militia and the long arm of the law, not by the rebels themselves. Nonetheless, the rebels’ rights to habeas corpus were suspended, and they were branded as “traitors.” The author makes a strong case that if the Massachusetts governor had agreed to good faith negotiations from the beginning, violence could have been averted, especially since many of the reforms advocated by the regulators were adopted after the rebellion was crushed. The author strongly asserts that the incident was unnecessary and avoidable if a spirit of reasonableness and tolerance had been adopted by the powers that be from the beginning.
Through the lens of Job Shattuck, this book provides a fascinating window into the reasons that drove the desperate farmers of Massachusetts to seek economic justice in an unstable time. It rescues a major figure of the movement from behind the shadow of the better-known Daniel Shays and corrects some long-held misperceptions concerning the regulators. And it’s a darned good read.
Stephen Donnelly is a consultant for the insurance industry and a Westfield State University alumnus.
