Challenges Of The Federal Government: The Whiskey Rebellion

The Whiskey Rebellion was a turning point in America's history that demonstrated the central government's willingness and ability to enforce its laws in spite of the obstacle of distance from its center of power.

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 many rebellions in the United States history, some peaceful and some violent. Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 are examples of two brutal rebellions that led to death of many innocent people. Rebellions can develop due to many conditions including unfair laws, unfair treatment, and a disagreement over a sensitive topic. The Shays' Rebellion showed the Articles of Confederation was too weak, while the Whiskey Rebellion proved the Constitution to be a strong framework of government.

The Articles of Confederation and the Constitution are two very important guidelines of government that shaped the political minds of the Americans. Mainly because these guidelines limited, or expanded the powers of the executive, legislative, and judicial branch. The Articles of Confederation were a series of laws that gave more power to the state government than the federal government. As a result, the federal government could not enforce laws or levy taxes. After Shay’s Rebellion, the Founding Fathers realized that a change was necessary. So the Constitution was created. The most important change of the Constitution was that the majority of power was then shifted into the hands of the federal or central government. This allowed the federal

The Whiskey Rebellion was a revolt of settlers in western Pennsylvania in 1794 against a federal excise tax on whiskey then, suppressed by militia called out by President George Washington to establish the authority of the federal government. The main cause of the Whiskey Rebellion was because of the placement of the tax on the domestic goods, This is known to be the first tax placed on a domestic goods in the new world. Due to the rebellion many outcomes became, two of the main outcomes were the power demonstration and the lost in federalist support. First, the government was able to demonstrate the power showing the people that they had the power to stop the rebellions and any action of the rebellions, with the people noticing that the government can withhold the rebellions they are least likely to revolt again. Also, with George Washington sending in the militia the federalist who does not believe in the ideas of why he sent in the militia, there was a massive lost of federalist

In 1791, under the advisement of Alexander Hamilton, congress passed the whiskey tax. This tax, put a twenty-five percent tax on whiskey. Hamilton created this tax in hopes of the federal government gaining more money to help pay of the nation’s debt. However, in doing so, this angered many people, especially farmers in western Pennsylvania, because they distilled the extra grain they had to make whiskey and sell it to make extra income. These small operations in western Pennsylvania rebelled by erecting liberty poles and taring and feathering tax collectors. George Washington, who was president during this time, saw the outburst and decided to take action against the angered farmers. Washington gathered about 13,000 men from the militia to put an end to this rebellion. In doing so, Washington showed that the government help the power over the citizens. In The Whiskey Rebellion, by Thomas Slaughter, he describes different consequences that arise from the whiskey tax. Slaughter presents three main points, which include conflicts between the east and west, two political systems that begin to develop, and the actual rebellion.

The greatest effects of the American Revolution lie in the political changes of American society between 1775 and 1800. The changes brought about during these times laid the foundation for the strong government of today. Although their first attempt at a Constitution did not succeed, the Articles of Confederation was a very important document in American history. It was ratified in 1781 and lasted until 1789. It had a weak central government and faced problems such as Shay's Rebellion, the Newburgh Conspiracy, a large amount of debt, and other problems with farmers, merchants, artisans, and manufacturers. There were four main reasons the central government faced these problems:

     The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 helped bring about the demise of the aristocratic Federalist Government in favor of the democratic Republican Government, concerned with the needs of all of its citizens.

Hamilton was able to persuade Congress into passing a twenty-five percent tax increase on such products. This did not go over all too well in the west, especially concerning small farmers in Pennsylvania. At the time, farmers processed their corn and grain into whiskey, since it was less complicated to transport their crops in liquid form rather than in bulk. Whiskey was also used as barter at this time. In retaliation to this tariff, farmers took it upon themselves to harass the federal tax collectors, and showed their hostility and disdain by stopping judicial proceedings. In response to this, Congress attempted to lift the most severe proclamations of the levy, but this was to no avail in the farmers' eyes. Since a majority of the farmers' used the barter system, they simply could not come up with the money necessary to pay the tax. Their vexation mostly stemmed from their belief that the "unresponsive government" lacked to "understand the hardships they faced" since the government quite clearly did not grasp the concept of a deficiency of affluence (Encyclopedia of American History: Revolution and New Nation, 1761 to 1812). Throughout 1771 to 1773, the farmers' resistance was noticeable although not yet notable until 1774, where they then decided to handle the complication themselves.

By late 1791, President Washington and his administration had created districts, and assigned revenue collectors, and inspectors. All that needed to happen now was to start collecting the whiskey revenue. This, however, is when the problems started.

Federalist’s views on economy were based off internal and foreign connections. Internally, Hamilton’s economic plan included three main parts- paying off all war debts, raising government taxes, and creating a national bank. This plan would result in the nation’s debt, which was a result of the Revolution, being paid in full by the wealthier states paying states debts for the poorer states. This was not accepted because the richer southern states disagreed to pay for the poorer northern states. Another plan by Hamilton was to tax farmer who made alcohol, resulting in funds to pay off the nations debt. Most of these farming citizens where part of the opposing Republican Party who strongly disagreed with the new tax causing the Whiskey Rebellion. Internationally, Hamilton wanted a strong economic relationship with Great Britain. He developed the Jay Treaty that insured a diplomatic agreement from peaceful trading with Britain. The Jay Treaty included decisions of debt payments, country boundaries, and Britain occupation of forts in newly independent America. Hamilton believed in a strong central economy that was aided by foreign affairs and national strength.

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.

I am writing to you in order to express my admiration and gratitude. You have proven to be worthy of the title and job of the first President of the United States. I am saying this in part due to your recent decisions and actions over the Whiskey Rebellion. Seeing how you put down the Whiskey Rebellion successfully without the use of force, my admiration for you grew. This display of power was a sound decision because it demonstrated your ability to have an army ready to defend the country’s laws without needlessly resorting to violence quickly. This will definitely set a positive example for those that come after you. So far, President Washington, you have done a great job as the first president in regards to your exercise of power. I sincerely

After the Revolutionary War, the newly formed United States still had a major task ahead of them. They had to form a new government that would satisfy the demands of the people and ensure the success of their nation. The Articles of Confederation was the first system of government that was proposed and put into effect. This attempt at creating a system that protected the people form a strong central government ultimately failed but was an important step in the development of the current government system. The weaknesses presented by the Articles of Confederation helped lead to reforms that made the Constitution successful. Both the Articles and the Constitution demonstrate the struggles that the colonists went through with the British and

Superficially, it may have been deemed an act of censorship to the Constitution’s critics; however, the tax on whiskey initially implemented helped create a better America by reducing the national debt to concentrate money into the securing of the nation’s individual liberties. A new, national militia helped secure the individual’s liberty, preventing other countries from controlling the United States, especially under the proclaimed tyrannical rule of Britain. The so-called censorship of the Whiskey Rebellion helped other individuals claim their liberty after the civil unrest caused by the uprising.