By 克里斯蒂娜·卡里克,出版公司
在马萨诸塞州的帕克斯顿., on 3 February 1783, a riot broke out over a cow. 来自帕克斯顿和附近伍斯特县的十几个“热心的家伙”冲进了一场“vendue”(一场拍卖),并试图从拍卖区“拯救”一头奶牛. They broke through the bars penning the animal 和, 挥舞着“不寻常的”棍棒, threatened the life 和 well-being of anyone who dared to place a bid. 据一名目击者称, Paxton joiner 和 alleged rioter 亚撒斯登 said that “whosoever bids, 当霍顿自耕农乔纳森·惠勒威胁“第一个出价的人,他会把他的脑袋敲出来。.”
The rioters left a trail of bruises 和 sore heads behind them. 没有人在骚乱中丧生, 但随后有10名男子被捕, 被控煽动暴乱, 并在马萨诸塞州伍斯特最高司法法院九月开庭前受审, 被检察官起诉. 创. 罗伯特·特鲁特·潘恩. The defendants were indicted for congregating in order to
阻碍法律的正当执行,并阻止联邦依法向其臣民征收公共税收,以武力和武器捍卫他们的自由和幸福,为了上述破坏性目的而肆无忌惮地非法集会和聚集,扰乱联邦的和平,并被如此集会和聚集, did then 和 there unlawfully riotously & 在一个小时的时间里,不顾一切地在一起闹哄哄的,给别人树立了一个以同样方式冒犯别人的坏榜样 & 反对和平 & 英联邦的尊严.*
在小, makeshift notebooks that contain Paine’s hastily written trial notes, the cramped pages of witness 和 participant testimonies expose local, 状态, 阶级矛盾. Witness after witness reported that the individuals in question, most prominently Asa 和 鲁本斯登, had spoken against the 状态 govern男人t in the weeks before the riot. 斯特恩斯兄弟的大多数投诉都是针对州税,更具体地说,是针对州的一项决议,即如果一个人没有硬币,税收人员可以没收可移动的财产或牲畜(如前面提到的牛)。.
由于硬通货的短缺和独立战争中断了一切照常, 帕克斯顿的许多居民都囊中羞涩,难以应付日益增加的州税要求. 因此, 当地官员没收了斯特恩斯兄弟和其他几位居民的牲畜,以代替未缴的税款. Local residents saw this measure as grossly unjust. 他们争辩说,如果他们的牛——他们生活的一部分——被没收, it would make it harder to earn the money to pay taxes, 甚至不能吃. According to witness Thomas Pollard, “亚撒斯登 sd. 他wd. pay no more Taxes, if he did he shd. 没有钱交税了吗.税收暴乱者抱怨说,沿海商人精英们以牺牲他们的利益为代价致富. 大卫•皮尔斯, 被指控的暴乱者之一, 他在审判时发誓,他“为自由而战,但它变成了暴政” & 他wd. support it no longer” because the tax “money went to support great 男人.”
The resent男人t toward the 状态 grew so high, 目击者称, 斯特恩斯兄弟在喝了几杯酒之后宣布,伍斯特县的居民在英国政府统治下会比在马萨诸塞州政府统治下生活得更好. They had toasted the “brave Tories” 和 wished health to King George III. 其他目击者剥去了暴徒的意识形态,转而说阿萨·斯特恩斯“该死”. 如果他死了. 他扔掉了交税的玩具. 没钱买flip”——一种在新英格兰早期流行的酒精饮料.
On the February morning of the vendue, 鲁本和阿萨·斯特恩斯, 大卫•皮尔斯, 和 a number of other 男人 arrived at the auction site with clubs, 打算阻止奶牛的出售,并阻止更富有的当地人购买他们的奶牛. Testifier Nathan Brigham Newton observed the buildup to the riot:
周日,他们说. 他们早就纳税了enô. 鲁本斯登 sd. 该死的当局. 阿萨·斯特恩斯. 他会留着钱买flip. 约翰. 惠勒 told Silas Newton to hold his tongue or he’d split his head open. 这是在出售之前
内森·布里格姆·牛顿的证词
The riot’s violence lasted less than an hour, 暴徒们把目标对准了州政府和地方税务人员,或者试图把牛从拍卖栏和附近的谷仓里放出来. 一些“对政府友好”的当地人赶在暴徒抢走牛之前把牛赶回牲口棚. The rioters were disb和ed 和 indicted two months later.
The case was not as legally challenging as many that Paine faced. 李维林肯, 被告方律师, presented thin argu男人ts that fill barely half a page in Paine’s notebook, whereas the witness testimonies take up over a dozen. 潘恩指出,一名辩方证人陈述暴徒实际上并没有威胁要杀人, but his remaining defense notes are short 和 cryptic. 不像很多情况, he did not spend pages listing relevant legal texts, 过去的案例, or rationalizing the charges—the case was straightforward. 这10名男子被判犯有煽动骚乱罪,每人被判处4至10英镑的罚款和50至80英镑的保证书,为期两年,以保证他们的良好行为, while one man was sentenced to three months imprison男人t. The cattle proceeded to auction; the proceeds from the sale went to the 状态 govern男人t. Despite the relative legal simplicity, the case indicates broader tensions in 牧师olutionary Massachusetts.
Paine’s notes on 李维林肯’s argu男人ts for the defense
Paine prosecuted several rioting cases in 1783. 同年9月,伍斯特县法院审理了斯特布里奇骚乱案件, 达德利, 道格拉斯, 和罗纹丝带. These cases resemble the Paxton riot, 男人对税收不满, 没收的牲畜, 和债务. 在20世纪后期的一场更大规模的抗议运动中,支持这些骚乱的抱怨再次出现:谢斯叛乱. While the 牧师olutionary War drew to a close in 1783, 麻萨诸塞州的居民继续对新政府的形式和职能提出质疑.
For the full trial story 和 Paine’s other legal endeavors, check out the 罗伯特·特鲁特·潘恩 论文 collection at MHS 出版的 罗伯特·特鲁·潘恩的论文. The Massachusetts State Judicial 档案 also holds records on this case, including the above indict男人t. 潘恩利记APP官网手机版这个案子的笔记和起诉书将全文刊登在 论文, 将于2017年在国家历史出版和记录委员会(NHPRC)的慷慨资助下,由卫生部出版部出版。.
*Quoted from the Massachusetts Judicial 档案, Suffolk Files 153487. All other quotations are from Paine’s trial notes at the MHS.