Ethan Allen and Daniel Shays: Contrasting Models of Political Representation in the Early Republic

During their meeting, Day and Parsons reportedly offered Ethan Allen command of the "revolutionary army" they were assembling.1 Allen undoubtedly appeared a kindred spirit to the disgruntled residents of western Massachusetts, having become famous for leading a frontier militia, the Green...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Early American literature 2013-01, Vol.48 (1), p.125-151
Main Author: GREENE, JAMES M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Backcountry
Collaboration
Furniture stores
Insurgency
Males
Narratives
Political leadership
Political protests
Political violence
Politics
Rebellion
Rebellions
Shays, Daniel
Shays, Daniel (1747?-1825)
State government
Violence
War
White, Edward Higgins
Writing
Written narratives
Citations: Items that cite this one
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Summary:During their meeting, Day and Parsons reportedly offered Ethan Allen command of the "revolutionary army" they were assembling.1 Allen undoubtedly appeared a kindred spirit to the disgruntled residents of western Massachusetts, having become famous for leading a frontier militia, the Green Mountain Boys, against the authority of both the colo- nial government of New York and the British Empire.2 The Massachusetts protesters likely imagined themselves as part of the same stream of local resistance as the residents of Vermont since both groups had used collec- tive action to block the proceedings of a legal system they believed favored wealthy, metropolitan interests at the expense of rural communities.3 The protesters in western Massachusetts even adopted the same visual sym- bolism used by the Green Mountain Boys, with members of both groups placing a sprig of evergreen in their hatbands to show affiliation.4 Despite this apparent compatibility, however, Allen sought to distance himself from the Massachusetts uprising by refusing the offer of leadership and ordering Day and Parsons to leave Vermont. While the threat of the Green Moun- tain Boys joining the fray in Massachusetts could be a means of pressing for inclusion in the national confederation, an actual collaboration would likely alienate the region from its neighbors. [...]Allen chose to reject the offer from Day and Parsons, while also publicizing that this offer had been made.
ISSN:0012-8163
1534-147X
1534-147X
DOI:10.1353/eal.2013.0000