Shay’s Rebellion and the
Constitution by Mary Hull, 2000, Excerpts
They feared being thrown in to debtor’s prison. Debtor’s
prisons were overcrowded and unclean places. Cells were damp and often lacked
proper light and ventilation. These conditions bred sickness and all kinds of
problems. The majority of people in debtor’s prison were yeoman farmers, rural
laborers, and craftsman.
A man sitting in debtor’s prison could not earn any money to
pay his way out. But creditors often insisted that someone who owed them money
remain in jail, in the hopes that his friends or family would pay his debt in
order to have him released. Sometimes this ploy worked. Other times, people
remained in debtor’s prison for their entire term with no way to pay their
debt.
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