The Shays Rebellion - What's It All About?

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There was an open struggle between ordinary people and upscale investors during the revolutionary period. And these were struggles over cash, credit, debt, taxes for closures, lending, essentially access to economic opportunity and prosperity. The Shays rebellion is the famous thing that kind of drives the elites to the convention. But there was another thing that went on in Massachusetts that I really pushed the idea: There was a bank charter in Pennsylvania which was publicly chartered, but it was an elite casino.

Astra Taylor interviews William Hogeland on his book Founding Finance: How Debt, Speculation, Foreclosures, Protests, and Crackdowns Made Us a Nation. Hogeland recovers a fascinating crop of mostly-forgotten rebels, the movements they led, and their radical demands that put the landlords and lenders of their day on edge. He also recounts the complex and sometimes deadly machinations that went into suppressing them in order to create a nation that was safe for the owning and investing classes. Support The Dig at Patreon.com/TheDig