Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

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The Whiskey Rebellion also known as the Whiskey Insurrection, began in response to the excise tax on domestic products by the newly formed federal government. Secretary Hamilton amongst others came up with the idea of the tax. The tax was imposed on all distilled products, but whiskey was by far the most popular drink in the 18th century. Therefore, the excise became known as a “whiskey tax.” The tax became a law in 1791. The goal of the tax was to generate revenue to assist in reducing the national debt, which was incurred during the American Revolutionary War. The tax became the first national internal revenue tax.
The farmers of the western front of Pennsylvania felt very strongly about the new tax. The farmers grew accustomed to distilling their surplus grain and corn into whiskey. In these regions, whiskey was so popular it served as a medium of exchange. Whiskey was both easier to transport and sell, which is why the tax directly impacted the farmers. In response to the tax, farmers resisted paying by attacking. At first, they used the method of tarring and feathering federal revenue officers. Tarring and feathering was a method of humiliation for revenge. In July 1794, five hundred mean attacked and burned the home of the tax inspector.
In response to the rebellious act, …show more content…
Two rebels were convicted of treason, though pardoned by the President. Due to the collapse of the rebellion, the federal government was able to prove it could keep order, being that it was a local rebellion. The suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion was widely approved. The suppression demonstrated that the new national government had what it took to suppress violent resistance to its laws. Because of this, the Whiskey Rebellion is generally viewed as a success for Washington’s administration. However, after the rebellion ended, the whiskey tax still remained difficult to collect and many westerners continued to refuse to pay the

Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

The whiskey rebellion happened as a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791. It lasted from 1791 to 1794. The Whiskey rebellion took place in Western Pennsylvania. It was an early test to the authority of the federal government. It also was a test of the ability of the government to levy and collect taxes. A large part of the economy in the early United States was agriculture. Shipping this harvest east was dangerous because of poor storage and dangerous roads. Farmers many times…

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Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was a protest against taxes on whiskey enacted by the federal government. The Whiskey Rebellion originally took place in Pennsylvania by farmers and distillers. The tax started peacefully then a bunch of violence against the law and the government occured because it was unfair to small producers. Eventually the government fought back against the violent rebels. The federal government showed a tremendous amount of power against the rebellion The tax would result with…

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Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

protest the taxes on whiskey. This was called the Whiskey Rebellion. The farmers were strongly against taxes and were self-reliant, meaning that they depended on themselves for their own needs. They didn’t want any eastern tax collectors because they thought differently from the easterners and didn’t want to pay their taxes. The frontier farmers did not want to be involved in the government, which created a problem when Congress approved a bill that placed an additional tax on whiskey in 1791. Since the…

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Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

1792, George Washington, the first president of the United States, stated his opinion about the Whiskey Rebellion in a document called A proclamation. “which proceedings are subversive of good order, contrary to the duty that every citizen owes to his country and to the laws, and of a nature dangerous to the very being of government” He believes that if you build an army, and do not pay the whiskey taxes, you are going against your own country. That is unconstitutional and you can not do that against…

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