The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels who Challenged America’s Newfound Sovereignty. [9] He therefore promoted passage of an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits. When that failed, some western Pennsylvanians organized extralegal conventions to advocate repeal of the law. The rebels thought they were fighting for the principles of the American Revolution, including the principle that there should be no taxation without representation. The focal point of the rebellion soon became Western Pennsylvania. Your email address will not be published.

It was an informal currency, a means of livelihood, and an enlivener of a harsh existence. He did not want to alienate public opinion, so he asked his cabinet for written opinions about how to deal with the crisis. By December 1790, Hamilton believed that import duties, which were the government's primary source of revenue, had been raised as high as feasible. Enforcement legislation touched off what appeared to be an organized rebellion, and in July of 1794 about 500 armed men attacked and burned the home of the regional tax inspector after a smaller group had been fended off the previous day.

[100], Washington met with the western representatives in Bedford, Pennsylvania on October 9 before going to Fort Cumberland in Maryland to review the southern wing of the army. In Pittsburgh, Major Kirkpatrick's barns were burned, but nothing else. About 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned. [54] But by that time, U.S. marshal David Lenox had already been sent to serve the writs summoning delinquent distillers to Philadelphia. Some tax collectors also had their homes burned. While this tax had the potential to raise a substantial amount of money for the government, it wasn’t particularly popular with distillery owners, farmers, and the common folk who enjoyed the occasional drink. There was praise for the French Revolution and calls for bringing the guillotine to America. Immediately before the arrests "... as many as 2,000 of [the rebels]...had fled into the mountains, beyond the reach of the militia. The Whiskey Rebellion was one of the most important events in the history of the United States. George Washington (far left) and members of his first cabinet: Henry Knox, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, and Edmund Randolph (left to right). [31] A man sent by officials to serve court warrants to Johnson's attackers was whipped, tarred, and feathered. Supporters of the excise argued that there was a difference between taxation without representation in colonial America, and a tax laid by the elected representatives of the American people. [24], In addition to the whiskey tax, westerners had a number of other grievances with the national government, chief among which was the perception that the government was not adequately protecting the residents living in western frontier. For poorer people who were paid in whiskey, the excise was essentially an income tax that wealthier easterners did not pay. Whiskey Rebellion, (1794), in American history, uprising that afforded the new U.S. government its first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means within state boundaries, as officials moved into western Pennsylvania to quell an uprising of settlers rebelling against the liquor tax. [105], Daniel Morgan, the victor of the Battle of Cowpens during the American Revolution, was called up to lead a force to suppress the protest. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Congress approved these measures in June and July 1790.

The  tax rate varied between 6 to 18% and smaller distillers tended to pay a larger amount compared to mass producers of whiskey located in the cities.

[116], In his seventh State of the Union Address, Washington explained his decision to pardon Mitchell and Weige.

His somewhat exaggerated report greatly influenced the decisions made by the Washington administration.

For farmers on the western frontier, such a journey was expensive, time-consuming, and beyond their means. Radical leaders emerged, such as David Bradford, urging violent resistance. General Neville barely managed to escape.