Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

Meaning when a tax is placed on a certain item, whiskey, in this demand model the producer, the farmers, would pay most of the tax. At the time the federal government saw whiskey as a luxury and so placed the tax on the distillers, raising the price of production in return decreasing the amount produced. They saw they could pay off their debt, by taxing the whiskey, and the producers of whiskey would pay for the debt for them. Therefore, the National debt incurred during the Revolutionary war and, the supply and the demand of whiskey are related. It was shown that only the distillers who produced less would pay more because of the tradeoff of equity end efficiency, meaning that because of the debt from the war, the government needed a way to pay for the debt and taxed whiskey. Concluding that the supply and demand elasticities of whiskey are completely due to the taxation put on the whiskey to pay for the

Slaughter divides The Whiskey Rebellion into three principal sections entitled Context, Chronology, and Consequence. The first section begins with a comprehensive assessment of the anti-excise tradition which follows late seventeenth-century British philosophy and traces its progression from Walpole's excise battle in 1733, through the Stamp Act crisis of 1764 and on through the Anti-Federalist account of the tax provisions of the Constitution of 1787. In the second section, Slaughter details the debate over the excise, its implementation and the outbreak of both peaceful and violent opposition to it; opposition that occurred not only in Pennsylvania but along the entire frontier. In his final section, and with a trace of personal bias, Slaughter describes the outbreak of violence in the summer of 1794 for which he holds John Neville largely accountable. Slaughter continues in the final section with Hamilton and Washington deciding to make an example of western Pennsylvania despite the fact that the excise had gone uncollected all along the frontier, and the Watermelon Army fiasco which the Federalists

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.

Beecher and Willard established schools for women in Connecticut, Ohio and New York (Lapsansky 276). Women started using their voice to gain support from the society not only in the school reforming movement but also the temperance movement. The temperance movement focused on reducing the use of alcoholic beverages. Since the widespread use of alcohol occurred, it led to many social problems such as crimes, disease, poverty, violence and a separation of a family relationship. The response to these temperance problems was the creation of the American Temperance Society that had thousands of people from several states took part in. The Society quickly developed and spread across the country. Many reformers tried different ways to prevent people

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.

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.

George Washington was the first president of the United States, the commander in chief of the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and one of the founding fathers of the United States. On January 1791 President George Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed a seemingly innocuous excise tax. In the American history, The Whiskey Rebellion was one of the most progressive time in the tax history in the United States. The impact of the Whiskey Rebellion when it began in the 1791s all the way until the 1794s.

How did the abolitionists' proposals and methods differ from those of earlier antislavery movements (see Chapter 8)?

This protest begins as Hamilton persuades congress to pass a 25% tax on whiskey on farmers who could otherwise profit money back on increased prices for the individual consumers in 1791. However, people refused to pay the corn whiskey tax. This backfired in May of 1794 when John Neville, a tax collector, charged 75 Pennsylvanian farmers and distillers for tax evasion. By July 1794, 7,000 farmers intended to attack Pittsburg. Washington swooped in with 13,000 troops and in about a month or two, demonstrators were dispersed. By putting the protest down, the government exhibited its power and strength. Yet, this started controversy as many critiqued the government as being tyrannical. This only led to those pitying the frontiersmen to becoming

It was the first federal tax placed on goods produced or services performed within the country. Hamilton’s calculations estimated that the soon to be dubbed Whiskey Tax would raise $800,000 per year – 25 cents per gallon. According to him, it would also only cost $1.50 for an average family drinking six gallons per year (Mintz and McNeil “The Whiskey Rebellion”). Industries would bear most of the burden of the tax, Hamilton assured. He also figured that this “sin tax” would meet the least objection. Spirits were not only a luxury but excessive consumption was considered by many to be a detriment to the health and morals of the community (Axelrod 47, Smith, Andrew 65). Any protest, he figured, would be confined to the thinly populated west (Axelrod 47). This meant it would be easily controlled and maybe even too far out to be noticed. In other words, it would be much easier to suppress or ignore these farmers than any of the businessmen in the east. It’s amazing that Hamilton underestimated the very population that had just overthrown their British

The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the U.S that taxed all whiskey products. The President that help set this was George Washington and was the first tax on a product by a new federal government. This tax helped the country's financial problems but the government faced problems like rebellions. The farmers and people rebelled because they felt the tax was unjust and unfair toward them. The government and President Washington responded to this by sending 12,000 soldiers and troops to make farmers stop rebelling. The government showed their power by overpowering the rebellions to help fund national debt. The Federalist party lost support of the people but the lawmakers were happy with the tax because it helped pay off debt. Both The Louisiana Purchase and the Whiskey Rebellion had choices made by the government and the Presidents to help better the government and people for a greater and stronger

Washington signed a bill authorizing Congress to place a tax on distilled spirits. Washington put a tax on the alcohol to help pay off the debts of the war. The colonists were unhappy at first about the tax on their alcohol, but eventually they understood what the tax would be used

The spark that ignited Maguire’s discontent into open rebellion was the appointment and ensuing depredations of Captain Humphrey Willis. This was the same Willis, who had previously been driven out of Donegal by Hugh Roe O’Donnell in February 1592. He was appointed sheriff in the spring of 1593 and quickly re-established his pattern of raiding and spoiling that was familiar to the inhabitants of Tirconnell the previous year. Willis had no legal reason for spoiling Maguire’s lordship, and the authorities in Dublin offered no justification. Hiram Morgan suggested that it may have been an attempt to suppress a major client of the Hugh O’Neill, second earl of Tyrone at a point when he was cementing his power in Ulster. Nonetheless, Maguire was initially unable to oppose Willis with the troops at his immediate disposal, but he was quickly reinforced with 100 shot, pikes and Scots bowmen led by Tyrone’s brother, Cormac Mac Baron, and then 120 shot under the commands of Donnall and Donough O’Hagan. Willis and his men took refuge in a church for six to seven days until

In the U.S. whiskey actually fomented a revolution. Late in the 18th century, after the fledgling U.S. had just beaten the British and sent them back to England it was faced with massive debt. The country had taken so much from allies during the war that it was difficult for or the US to pay its bills. The response then was to levy taxes on