Albert Gallatin and the Whiskey Rebellion
In 1791, Congress passed a whiskey tax, which taxed the producers of whiskey and other alcohol anywhere from six to eighteen cents per gallon. This was put into place in order to repay some of the national debt. All taxes were to be paid to a Federal revenue officer who was appointed to each individual county where the producer lived. This was a problem for a lot of people especially in the western counties. The tax was to be paid in cash which was rare for the western famers to have. If they failed to comply with this tax, they were to appear in a federal court, not a state court. These federal courts were sometimes 300 miles away. The western farmers were upset about this tax because the money made form it would support a government that didn’t represent the states well. They saw it as the government not caring about the
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At a meeting in 1794, Gallatin pushed for a more peaceful approach to opposing the Whiskey tax. He was responsible for convincing most of the rebels to submit to the law, which in return gave them a pardon for past offenses when they promised good conduct in the future. With hopes of stopping the Whiskey Rebellion, President Washington sent Federal troops there with a list of people to arrest, some of which were thought to have organized and led the Whiskey Rebellion. Albert Gallatin was one of those men on the list. Not having any proof of his involvement or leadership of this rebellion, Gallatin was not arrested. Gallatin went on to hold the position of Secretary of the Treasury under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison for thirteen years. He was heavily involved, if not responsible for reducing the national debt and was against internal taxes. Gallatin would have been considered a strict constructionist because he believed that the less involvement the government had, the better. He also recommended that the First Bank of the United States be re-chartered, insisting that it could help stabilize the economy. It was not renewed therefore Gallatin had a hard time funding the War of 1812, which led him to reintroduce the taxes he had been opposed to before. After he resigned from his position, Gallatin was
George Washington, the president at the time, was one such large producer of whiskey. Large producers were assessed a tax of
Whiskey Rebellion Tax. A small word, but a major impact on society. About 20 years after the revolutionary war had begun, President George Washington was faced with a mini revolution of his own. This time from his own citizens. Similar to the previous war, the core problem revolved around taxes.
Even though the Stamp Act was repealed, parliament created the declaratory act which enforced parliament’s right to make rules to bring the people together. Britain furthered their grasp on the colonies by indirectly taxing them by adding the tax to price causing a rise in prices, known as the Townshend Act. Along with the indirect tax on imported materials there was also a tax of 3 pennies on tea. The indirect taxes caused anger within the colonies and they began to protest, they protested “No taxation without representation” and boycotted british goods, such as tea and british made cloth, and began to make their own. On March 5th, 1770, a group of Boston men surrounded British soldiers and began taunting them, as the group got more and more out of hand the British began firing at them killing several and wounding many (Document 4).
This act required that many documents such as licenses, diplomas, contracts and even playing cards to be printed on embossed paper that had a tax on it. This act was the very first attempt to tax the colonists directly for activities that occurred solely with the colonies themselves. After the French and Indian War the British national debt skyrocketed and the Prime Minister was eager to pay it down before the government was bankrupted.
Alexander Hamilton became the first Secretary of the Treasury on September 11, 1789. At the time, the United States government had a massive debt that needed to be dealt with. This debt could be divided into two different types: federal debt and state debt. Hamilton estimated that the federal debt was $54 million and the states’ collective debt was $25 million. To handle the gigantic amount of debt, Hamilton proposed a seemingly risky plan.
The Whiskey Rebellion: Effects On History The Whiskey Rebellion was one of the first accomplishment over a period of time taken to get the United States out of debt after the Revolution. (Gale Encyclopedia of U.S. History) states that “Life on the western frontier was very difficult during this period; much of the area was simultaneously claimed by both Great Britain and Spain, and settlers were also threatened by Indian wars”. The Whiskey Rebellion was caused by Alexander Hamilton who convinced congress to pass a tax on the farmers main crop Whiskey! Hamilton’s intention was to help compile the power of the new government along with bringing down the national dept.
“Government, even in its best state, is but a necessary evil; in its worst state, an intolerable one. ”1 -Thomas Paine, “Common Sense” In 1763, Dr. Samuel Johnson, an Englishman, said, “If the abuse is enormous, nature will rise up, and claiming her original rights, overturn a corrupt political system.” This statement has been validated throughout the course of human history.
10) The Whiskey Rebellion was significant because it showed that the government was willing and able to suppress oppositions with military force. The rebellion was a protest to Hamilton’s excise tax on spirits. The tax had cut demand for the corn whiskey the farmers distilled and bartered. Protestors waved banners that proclaimed the French revolution slogan “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” In response President Washington rallied a militia of 12,000 troops and dispersed the rebels.
The idea of relying on individual states to offer a certain amount of taxes, without consequence to those who did not, was ludicrous. The Government was left unable to pay its foreign debtors which caused concern with those worried
The whiskey rebellion was a protest by many Americans who were against the new law that taxed whiskey. This law was put into place in 1791. The United States government was in debt from the war and they decided that taxing whiskey would slowly start eating away at Americas debt. George Washington was in his second year of presidency during 1791 although he wasn't the mastermind behind the whisky tax. Alexander Hamilton was the man behind this idea because he realized that Americans needed to do something to get out of their nearly eighty million dollars in debt they had accumulated from the war.
The British government was not looking for the best of the people. They were only thinking about what they wanted; the government was not interested in what the people wanted so they decided to make decisions on their own, which resulted in changes that form the United States today. Because of this, they were justified in rebelling and declaring independence. One reason why the colonists decided to rebel and declare independence was because of taxation.
Ironically, western Virginians experienced a period of significant prosperity and growth in the years following the Whiskey Rebellion. Numerous anti-excise leaders in the western counties were able to return to their state and local government positions, some even using the insurrection to advance their political influence. Economically, in the aftermath of the insurrection, the lasting military presence in western Virginia boosted the local economy, bringing in more much-needed banknotes. Barksdale notes, “The soldiers’ demand for supplies and propensity to consume large quantities of Virginia whiskey assumed that money flowed into the burgeoning regional economy.” It was ironic that the soldiers sent to enforce the loathsome whiskey tax stimulated
James Armistead is the most significant person in the American Revolution because he risked his life for a cause that did not guarantee his freedom. He was able to use his role as a slave to acess the British camps, and gathered key information that narrowed the British Army’s fate in the American Revolution. His master, Lafayette, granted him permission to join the Revolutionary War, to get him information. Armistead used his role as a spy for the Americans to his favor.
Document A: The Rhode Island Assembly wrote a letter to the Congress, addressing them that they don’t agree with placing taxes on imported goods. The Congress wanted to place taxes on imported goods as a source of income, but first, all of the states had to agree with this. This was around the time when the Articles of Confederation were ratified. Their central government was based on the Articles of Confederation; yet, they had weaknesses in some areas. Taxing was one of their weaknesses.
Around the time of these protests Americans were beginning to realize their rights as citizens and what their ideal government looked like. Settlers of the backcountry were rebelling against the federalists, attempting to acquire more representation in the government. The people of the backcountry were becoming more oppressed as Alexander Hamilton began to attempt to improve America’s economy with manufacturing and revenue taxes. The backcountry settlers organized violent protests, three of these rebellions being Shays’ Rebellion, Whiskey Rebellion, and March of the Paxton Boys.