Whiskey Rebellion Essay

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Clyde Carr
History 121 “Response Paper Two”
Aspirations for a strong central government led to the Constitutional Convention in 1787 in Philadelphia known as Philadelphia Convention. The completed Articles of Confederation documents were submitted to the states to be revised. To address several problems that faced the United States of America under the operating directions of the Articles of Confederation. Although the Convention was intended to revise the Articles of Confederation, many other had intentions to ratified the Articles of Confederation and establish a new government. The delegates elected America’s first president under this new establish government, presided over the Convention. President George Washington’s election in 1789, introduce the Federalist Era, which witnessed the development of transliterating the Constitution’s thoughts and ideas into actual practice. As a result of the Convention was the creation of the United States Constitution, placing the Convention among the most highly significant events in the history of the United States. Also, Bill of Rights was drafted by Congress and submitted to the states. Alexander Hamilton was the primary author of the numerous economic policies and set economic balance for President George Washington administration while serving as Secretary of the Treasury. Especially the funding of the state debts by the Federal government, the establishment of a national bank, a system of tariffs, and trade relations with Britain. The new national government had been challenge which was posed by the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791.
Farmers who used their leftover grain and or corn in the form of whiskey as a medium of exchange were forced to pay a new tariff.
As Sectary of Treasury, Alexander Hamilton's tariff program was a part to increase central government power, in particular to fund his policies of assuming the war debt of those states which had failed to pay. The farmers, who resisted were mostly war veterans and contended that they were fighting for the principles of the American Revolution, in particular against taxation without local representation. The Federal government continued the taxes as a legal expression of the taxation powers of control by Congress. The Whisky Rebellion started to protest against the tariff imposed on the farmers but the new establish government could infringe on the rights. To prevent federal officials from collecting the tax the Whisky Rebellion resulted to violence. Armed to justify their existence, the societies created a defense of right of the people to debate political issues and organize to affect public policy (Foner 137). As a statement adopted by Democratic-Republican Society of Pennsylvania insisted, ”freedom of opinion” was the “bulwark of liberty,” a natural right that no government could restrict
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