Causes And Effects Of The Whiskey Rebellion
Thousands of farmers took up arms against the enforcement of a federal law calling for an excise tax on distilled spirits. It began in 1794 and is known as the Whiskey Rebellion. It signifies the largest organized resistance in opposition of federal authority between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Several of the rebels of the Whiskey Rebellion were prosecuted for treason in what were the first such legal proceedings in the United States (Whiskey Rebellion). The idea of taxation without local representation, was the main controversial argument behind the unfairness of the tax, which was exactly what the Americans had previously fought over. The Revolutionary War had accumulated a colossal national debt. In 1791, the House approved …show more content…
It began during the October of 1791 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Most of the resistance to the tax was refusing to pay the tax. However, in more drastic cases, resistance came in the shape of violence, generally towards excise tax officers who were selected to supervise the collection of the tax. By threatening anyone who would house the officers, numerous people made certain that excise officers didn’t create an office in their community or town (The Whiskey Rebellion). Tax collectors were shot at, beaten, tarred and feathered, humiliated, intimidated, and terrorized. Whether voluntary or involuntary, many tax officers left towns not long after they arrived. Soon, widespread resistance break out in the western provinces of most states, becoming so large the tax went uncollected in 1791 and 1792. The excise tax lay largely uncollected in western Pennsylvania by 1794, respect for federal authority was waning, and the national debt was rising (Whiskey Rebellion). Finally, once the rebellion came to a climax in 1794, the federal government took action. George Washington issued a proclamation for the rebels to disperse, while simultaneously, militias were being gathered from a number of colonies. As a result that many of the drafted men didn’t wish to join, the draft led to even more resistance to the government. However, they eventually succeeded in raising a large militia led by General Harry Lee, a menacing force to the Rebels (The Whisky
How Does Alexander Hamilton Solve The Foreclosure Crisis?
1010 Words | 5 PagesIndependence can be expensive. While the American Revolutionary War very costly casualty-wise, it left a young, new nation with millions of dollars of domestic and foreign debt. This staggering debt, at the time, totaled 77.1 million dollars, 1.27 billion in today’s american dollar. Debt was divided throughout the colonies, since there was no umbrella organization, like the government, to pay off the tax as one tax rather than haphazardly dealing out twelve different recompenses. Alexander Hamilton feared this debt and drafted his plan of action to keep the debt at bay and to repay the tax in a simple way--or so it seemed.
Daniel Shays: Heroic Military Service In The Continental Army
961 Words | 4 PagesThey all had an immense amount of debt due to the government not paying the veterans, and the taxes being increased for farming. This led to Daniel Shays becoming one of the numerous leaders of the rebellions. At first they tried to change the laws peacefully by having a petition for them stating that the veterans and farmers were being treated unfairly because these new laws, guidelines, and new legislature rules (legislature was controlled by merchant interest). Therefore since the legislature was controlled by eastern merchant interest the petitions were declined which caused even more issues for the veterans and farmers. Protests began to increase tremendously, in August 1786 the legislature was going to have a court meeting considering the many petitions against the rebellions, but Shays had formed a protest that marched to the courthouse and prevented them from having the court sitting.
Alexander Hamilton's Financial Plan
1192 Words | 5 PagesThe bank also served as a collecting and distributing agent for the nation, making it a place of investment and opportunity. Such opportunities included the lending of money, holding of deposits, which therefore extended business and industry affairs . To fund state debts, the national government implemented a tax on Whiskey, which caused mass rebellion by farmers out west in
How Did Thomas Paine Create A Decentralized Government
907 Words | 4 PagesDespite their effort to create a new government different from Britain's following their Independence in 1776, America’s executive branch paralleled Britain’s. One of the main concerns many Revolutionists had with Britain’s government was that it had too much unregulated power. To avoid this, America wrote down its laws clearly in the Articles of Confederation and ratified it among the colonies in 1781, creating a decentralized government. Through practice, the colonists realized the Articles of Confederation needed tweaking; Massachusetts farmers saw the prices for crops plummet in 1786 but the government still demanded they their mortgages. Shay’s rebellion followed, in which the farmers insisted that it was the government’s job to assist
Compare And Contrast Shays Rebellion And Whiskey Rebellion
559 Words | 3 PagesIn a time when the Pontiac was and French and Indian war had ended, the Articles of confederation was established. The Articles had weakened the National government and a social revolution occurred. In this context new taxes were created and a significant amount of resistance arose. Many violent protests had occurred in the 1700s, such as, the march of the Paxton boys, Shays rebellion, and the whiskey Rebellion. One significant protest that occurred in 1763 was the March of the paxton boys.
Whiskey Rebellion Dbq
1916 Words | 8 PagesJefferson was frustrated and quoted a line from Washington’s favorite play and applied it to Washington: “a curse on his virtues, they’ve undone his country.” The event that changed Jefferson’s view of Washington was the Whiskey Rebellion, an uprising in four counties of western Pennsylvania protesting an excise tax on whiskey. According to Washington, the revolt was a direct threat to the federal government that called out a massive militia of thirteen thousand soldiers to suppress it. Jefferson remarked on Washington’s decision as a shameful repetition of Shay’s Rebellion and denounced Washington’s justification as “shreds of stuff from Aesop’s fables and Tom Thumb.” Jefferson had started orchestrating a campaign of vilification against Washington.
Similarities Between American Revolution And Whiskey Rebellion
614 Words | 3 PagesIn the American Revolution, colonists formed militias and engaged in armed conflict against British forces. The use of arms was integral to the colonists' ability to resist British rule and protect their rights and liberties. Similarly, the Whiskey Rebellion, as a response to the whiskey excise tax, saw some rebel groups resorting to armed resistance. While the rebellion was primarily characterized by localized protests and sporadic violence, there were instances where armed groups clashed with authorities or engaged in acts of defiance. For example, in Chapter 3, Cornell states “In the Summer of 1794 a group of angry protestors marched to the home of tax collector General John Neville.
Summary Of George Washington's Farewell Address
721 Words | 3 PagesHe experience with rebellious citizens during during the infamous Whiskey Rebellion. The advice left to the new country was to not rebel if they have a problem with government, but to petition. The Farewell Address affirms that, “If, the opinion people, the distribution or modification of the constitutional powers be in any particular wrong, let it be corrected by an amendment in the way which way which the Constitution designates. ”The Constitution states that if the people do not agree with the government or a law that is passed, they have the right to petition for a change. During Washington’s second term, Alexander Hamilton created a tariff on whiskey, which at the time was medium of exchange, to pay off national debt.
Analyzing The Crisis Of The 1780's Helped Shaped The United States
685 Words | 3 PagesBetween 1786 and 1787 in the United States the Articles of Confederation were being tested by political issues. The main crisis was the Shays Rebellion led by Daniel Shays. The rebellion was a revolt against the state's taxing large amounts towards farmers causing them to foreclose. The farmers were unable to pay the high taxes and feared to lose their
What Are The Articles Of Confederation Flawed
520 Words | 3 PagesShay's Rebellion, the most prominent act of defiance toward federal authority, was a series of protests in 1786 and 1787 by American farmers throughout the states of New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Massachusetts against state and local governments of tax collections. Due to bad harvests, economic depression, and high taxes farmers faced the possibility of losing their farms. Although unsuccessful, the rebellion led by Daniel Shay, a former captain in the Continental army, alarmed politicians and ultimately called for a revision or replacement of the Articles of
The Whiskey Rebellion Analysis
870 Words | 4 PagesWhen the United States government put a federal tax on liquor, there were protests and riots throughout the country. This rebellion was called the Whiskey Rebellion of 1794. It was the first federal tax of the U.S. Government and the catalyst was rumored to be Alexander Hamilton. The uprising that followed gave the new U.S. government the opportunity to establish federal authority using the military means at their disposal (The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica 2018). It was originally a tax, but it became a true law in 1791 (Hoover 2014).
Oscar Wilde's Essay: The Role Of Disobedience In Society
1034 Words | 5 PagesShay’s Rebellions follow the Revolutionary war and how the US fell into a economic crisis, There were a lot of tension due to farmers losing their property to to debt collectors. In January 1787, him and his force were sent to a federal armory at Springfield but it failed due the artillery fire and how it lead to 4 people being killed and 20 people being wounded. Rebellion doesn’t always end up peaceful and it can also show no improvement at.
Compare And Contrast Shays Rebellion And Whiskey Rebellion
1002 Words | 5 PagesThe 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.
Were The Colonists Justified In Declaring Independence Essay
539 Words | 3 PagesThe 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.
Whiskey Rebellion Essay
849 Words | 4 PagesAround 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.
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