Question

What is the irony of how Samuel Adams reacted to Shays and the other agitating farmers?


Samuel Adams did not even live in Massachusetts


Samuel Adams had used similar tactics and strategies against the British, and for similar reasons


Samuel Adams was sympathetic to the farmers in their struggle to improve their economic status

Answer 1

The irony of how Samuel Adams reacted to Shays and the other agitating farmers lies in the fact that he had used similar tactics and strategies against the British, and for similar reasons. While Adams was a key figure in the American Revolution and championed the rights of the colonists against British oppression, when faced with the rebellion of the Massachusetts farmers (Shays' Rebellion), he opposed their actions. This opposition is ironic because the farmers were essentially fighting against what they perceived as economic oppression, much like he had done against British rule. Adams' shift in stance underlined a contradiction between his earlier revolutionary principles and his later support for order and authority in the new nation.