Whiskey rebellion in 19794 was an uprising of Pennsylvania farmers against the federally imposed whiskey tax. Among other things, it gave the new United States government its first opportunity to assert federal authority over a state government. It provided an early test of the federal government’s willingness to enforce federal laws.
Alexander Hamilton the secretary of treasurer devised an elaborate plan to phase out the serious wartime debt before that was eating away at the federal government treasury.
A key aspect of the plan was a tax on whiskey passed in 1791. He pushed through a federal excise tax of 25 percent on whiskey and distillers. In western Pennsylvania whiskey was a medium of rater and an important source of income.
The tax, eliminating any profit to be derived from the sale or trade of whiskey, threatened the very livelihood of many western farmers who distilled their own liquor.
Not only were they taxed at higher arte than large distillers, they didn’t have much cash in the first place because they lived in remote areas.
They finally flatly refused to pay the tax.
In May 1794 some 75 distillers were charged with tax evasion and ordered to Philadelphia trial.
From simple evasion they began attacking tax collectors, tarring and feathering some. Shots were fired on July 15, 1794, and on July 17 some 500 irked distillers burned down an excise inspectors home.
When a federal marshal was attacked in Allegheny County Pennsylvania in July 1794, President George Washington responded to the growing disorder in August 7 by issuing the following which imposed martial law, ordered all rioters to return to their homes and called out the militia to suppress the insurrection.
Whiskey Rebellion
