Causes Of The Whiskey Rebellion

Shay’s rebellion was led by a man named Daniel Shay in 1787. This was an historic event that shaped history in its own way. This uprising began in Massachusetts in the year of 1786. Daniel shay was characterized and labeled as a rebel, traitor, and a coward. He was also considered a devoted nationalist and a decent military officer supporting America’s revolution. He dedicated over five years of his life in service of America`s government. He mobilized everyone who disagreed with his government’s actions during the time. Shay was able to lead a militia of over 2000 men. The militia was armed and willing and ready to burn down Boston. According to miller (71), Jefferson heard of the rebellion while in France but felt that it would not last long.

Taxes on tea, taxes on legal documents/paper, taxes on gas, lead, paint. All these laws and more are what eventually got the American Colonists to go against Great Britain and eventually breaking away. Until 1776, the American thirteen colonies were under British rule. During the years that the colonies were under British rule, the colonists were treated extremely poorly. The British created many unjust laws against the colonists. Some of the many unjust laws were the Stamp Act of 1765, the Townshend Act of 1767, the Tea Act of 1773, and the Intolerable Acts of 1774. All of these laws eventually lead to the Boston Massacre, then The Boston Tea party, and the Battle of Lexington. All together all these events brought up to the Revolutionary War. Justify; "to show or prove to be right or reasonable". The American Colonists were justified in waging war and breaking away from Great Britain.

During the year of 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion occurred and caused many political, economical, and social changes for the North and South.

The colonists were being heavily taxed, and treated very unfairly. With acts such as the

As generations grew up in America, nationalism within the colonies grew towards their new country. These settlers slowly lost their patriotic tie to Great Britain and it’s ruler, King George III. So when the French and Indian War ended in America, and the indebted England needed some compensation from American settlers in the form of taxes, the colonists questioned the authority of England and their ability to rule them. British imperial policies such as the Sugar Act of 1764 and the Townshend Tea Tax caused uproar within the colonies against British rule without

Huge debts were owed to Great Britain for supplying the colonists with military support and supplies. To pay the dues, there was the establishment of the Stamp Act, the taxation on domestic goods and services. A tax on domestic merchandise brought even more anger to the colonists. The Sugar Act, the Townshed Duties and the Tea Act were also all introduced with the same fundamentals: applying tax on goods whether it be directly or indirectly, domestic or international. “British commercial regulations imposed a paltry economic burden on Americans, who enjoyed a rapid economic growth and a standard of living higher than their European counterparts” (McGaughy). Each act resulted in irritated colonists. Some even retaliated by tarring and feathering certain English tax enforcers living in the colonies.

Towards the end of the 16th century, the United States government experienced continuous changes in laws(taxes) and several problems(battling and removal of Indians) associated with westward expansion. Conflict was created in response to the rising taxes issued by the government on goods such as whiskey. Most affected by the heavy taxation were the creators and distributors of whiskey - the average poor white farmer. An incident that occurred in 1794 involving enraged farmers in western Pennsylvania, threatened the tax collectors lives as well as the authority of the government. This incident came to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

There were several acts that were passed without the consideration of the colonists that would force them to pay a ridiculous amount of taxes to the British mainland. One of these acts was named the Stamp Act, which was enacted in 1765, forced the colonists to pay a tax on every piece of printed paper that they used. This would include legal documents, license, commercial contracts and newspapers in the tax. This tax mostly effected the wealthier and influential of the colonists and would force them to unite in opposition. There were several other acts that would be passed that would force the colonists to pay undue taxes to the British, such as the Quartering Act and the Tea

Following the American Revolution, the American nation and states were faced with enormous amounts of debt. To resolve the economic hardships the new nation had been experiencing, leaders turned to taxation as a source of income to resolve debts. Those who lived in the backcountry, which was isolated from society, were often shocked by the newly imposed taxes and most times resented them. Their resentment in relation to the taxes sparked protests and led to large scale rebellions to express their grievances to the government. Both Shay's rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion were similar in their causes and purpose but they differed in consequences and their significance.

In 1791 farmers tarred a tax collector and threatened to burn down houses.The Whiskey rebellion is what Alexander Hamilton called these events, it was farmers mostly in Pennsylvania rebelling against a whiskey tax. It was 1791, farmers rebelled against a whiskey tax, which later Washington led his army to stop, allowing him to empower his newly formed government.

The taxes were a huge part of the Revolutionary war and they caused one of the key rebellions in the British Colonies that sparked major conflict. This rebellion is known as the Boston Tea Party. In the Boston Tea Party, a group of Patriots who called themselves the Sons of Liberty dressed themselves as Native Americans and went to the Boston Harbor. Once there they went aboard ships that were carrying tea and they threw 92,000 pounds(340 chests) of tean into the harbor. This act changed the world as the colonists knew it. It sparked the Coercive acts, known as the intolerable acts in America to be

“We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal.” (The Declaration of Independence, U.S. 1776, para. 2). The Declaration of Independence is one of the most important documents in American history. The colonists said that Parliament and the king, George III, were violating the people’s natural rights. The colonies were on their own for such a long time that they got used to handling stuff their own way. Out of nowhere, the king and Parliament started giving the colonists taxes. From this taxing we got the saying “No taxation without representation.” Some of the taxes they gave the colonists were the Stamp Act, Sugar Act, and the Quartering Act. The Stamp Act was tax on every piece of paper and book published or used. The Sugar Act was a tax on sugar being imported and any food containing sugar. The Quartering Act was when the colonists were forced to house british soldiers, the soldiers were there to enforce the taxes being placed. All of these problems started the American Revolution.

Imagine being an active participant in the American Revolution in the late 1700s. Not only that, imagine being on the side fighting for your freedom. The war ends, you're in the clear for a leisurely life of freely doing what you please, and you're happy. You're also a farmer that happens to be located in Pennsylvania. Before you know it, Congress comes to the decision to pass a tax on the production and distribution of whiskey, one of your main crops. What? Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute, did you not just fight a whole war against the taxes being imposed on you? A war for your rights? This can't be right, it just cannot be. Ah, but it is all too true. In the 1790s, a tax was passed that raised the price on distributing whiskey. This

As one of the first revolts following the Revolutionary War, the Whiskey Insurrection (1791-1794) was one of the first instances of insurgence against the new American federal government. After the U.S. Congress passed an act that placed an excise tax on distilled spirits in 1791, protesters emerged in the western Pennsylvania counties of Allegheny, Washington, Westmoreland, and Fayette. Opposition towards the excise tax gradually became more hostile, with the attacks physical attacks on tax collector, primarily on the residence of tax collector John Neville, as the main turning points. While it was mainly contained in western Pennsylvania and surrounding areas, this event bore a greater significance that the Washington administration knew would dictate future perceptions of the federal government’s authority. This paper will seek to investigate the significance of the Whiskey Rebellion in the establishment and execution of federal power during the infant years of the United States.

In Pennsylvania people used whiskey a lot; whether to use up extra corn or as money. The federal government passed a law where all whiskey would be taxed in 1791. The farmer refused to pay it. They compared it to the Stamp Act and said that is was like that all over again. After a few years they started calling it the Whiskey Rebellion. By 1794 the Whiskey Rebellion started to threaten the strength of the United States government. George Washington had to lead the United States military to stop the rebels.