With the adoption of the Constitution, the federal government assumed the Revolutionary War debts of the original 13 colonies. In January 1791, President George Washington's Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton proposed a seemingly innocuous excise tax "upon spirits distilled within the United States, and for appropriating the same." Until the War of 1812, the Federal government would rely solely on import tariffs for revenue, which quickly grew with the Nation's expanding foreign trade. by Raymond Walters, Jr., (New York: Chelsea House, 1983). The Whiskey Rebellion of August 1794 was the product of growing discontentment, which had been expressed as early as 1791, of grain farmers who resented a … Americans were consuming a lot of whiskey, so there was a considerable amount of commerce to tax. [7] After leading the troops to Bedford, Washington returned to Philadelphia in late October and placed General Henry "Lighthorse" Lee, a Revolutionary War hero and governor of Virginia, in command. This law allowed Congress to raise a militia to “execute the laws of the union, (and) suppress insurrections.” It was the late 18th century and the national government was cash-strapped. In doing so, their grain became taxable distilled spirits under the 1791 excise law, and western farmers opposed what was, in effect, a tax on their main crop. 1 What Congress failed to predict was the vehement rejection of this tax by Americans living on the frontier of Western Pennsylvania. The attack on Neville represented a new phase of the crisis. By 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion threatened the stability of the nascent United States and forced President Washington to personally lead the United States militia westward to stop the rebels. George Washington like many other founding fathers, believed that one weakness of the Articles of Confederation was that the federal government could not deal firmly with domestic uprisings such as Shay’s Rebellion. The Excise tax on whisky, part of Hamilton's financial plan, caused the Whisky rebellion. ThoughtCo, Feb. 17, 2021, thoughtco.com/whiskey-rebellion-4797408. This tax was set forth by Alexander Hamilton in his efforts to annul the government’s debt in bonds from the recent war. The attacks were intended to send a message, and were not fatal. America was in debt so they decided to put a tax on whiskey… In July of 1794, a force of disaffected whiskey rebels attacked and destroyed the home of a tax inspector. A searchable list of historical markers can be found on the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Web site at http://www.phmc.state.pa.us/. Albert Gallatin, a leading Pennsylvania businessman, land developer, and State legislator long opposed internal Federal taxes. The Whiskey Rebellion ended not because of the threat posed by Alexander Hamilton’s army, but because many of the concerns of the frontiersmen were finally addressed. In Washington County, Federal revenue officer John Neville acted as Lennox 's guide. He traveled with the troops, usually riding in a carriage, with the rough roads aggravating his bad back. They both ended with an army. Other attacks on tax collectors occurred. For information on visiting the house, see the Memorial's Web site at https://www.nps.gov/hagr/index.htm for details. It was the first test of the newly formed federal government, pitting the military against rebels who refused to pay taxes on their favourite drink — whiskey. The tax itself was calculated based on the size of a distiller's still and the proof of the whiskey produced. The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. Other aspects of the excise law also caused concern. Collection of the tax met violent resistance, but when President Washington called out the militia, the rebellion collapsed. 378-381. On July 15th, the two men served a writ on William Miller, but, after leaving the paper with the angry frontiersman, they were met by an armed group of his neighbors. President George Washington personally led the troops for a time, but the rebellion faded away before any real conflicts occurred. On August 1, 1794, there occurred in this country the "Whiskey Rebellion," which offers a few lessons on taxation (especially of the "sin tax" variety), political deal making, George Washington and the advancement of civilization. The troops continued westward, but a confrontation with a rebel force never happened. 3, pgs. After traveling to central Pennsylvania, where he was greeted by cheering citizens at every town on the way, he turned back. During the War of 1812, however, the rising costs of fighting Great Britain forced Gallatin to seek and win Congressional approval of new Federal excise taxes on carriages, sugar refining, and distilled spirits in 1813. In addition, many were upset by what they saw as the National government's inattention to continuing Indian attacks along the frontier and, with Spain's control of New Orleans, westerners were frustrated with the failure of the Government to open the Mississippi River to free American trade. For example, historical markers note important meeting sites of whiskey rebels at Braddock's Field, as well as Bonnet Tavern and Mingo Creek Church, both of which still stand today. The first, named after its nominal leader, Daniel Shays, erupted in western Massachusetts in the winter of 1786 and continued into the early months of 1787. After several thousand armed rebels gathered at Braddock's Field during the last week in July 1794, President Washington met on August 2nd with his Cabinet and the governor of Pennsylvania, Thomas Mifflin, to consider the situation. And in some regions, grain grown by settlers, once converted into whiskey, was commonly used as a form of currency. Despite the President's plea and Congressional modification of the excise law, [3] violent opposition to the whiskey tax continued to grow over the next two years. The Whiskey Rebellion (also known as the Whiskey Insurrection) was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of George Washington, ultimately under the command of American Revolutionary warveteran Major James McFarlane. However, members of Congress representing frontier populations, realizing how it would impact their constituents, objected to it. 1 decade ago. Farmers often used whiskey as currency in a barter economy, partly because it was easier to transport than raw grain. What did the farmers do in order to stop the Whiskey Rebellion? Washington left a letter with Lee with instructions to combat those "who may be found in arms in opposition to the National will and authority" and "to aid and support the civil Magistrate in bringing offenders to justice." The farmers were already poor and they grew corn which was made into whiskey. By mid-November, the militia had arrested 150 rebels, including 20 prominent leaders of the insurrection. In late August and early September, the three Federal commissioners held talks with a 15-member committee appointed by a rebel assembly representing the four frontier counties of Pennsylvania and Ohio County in Virginia.The rebel committee included Hugh Henry Brackenridge, David Bradford, Albert Gallatin, and other prominent community leaders. President John Adams pardoned David Bradford, who escaped to Spanish-controlled New Orleans, in March 1799. (2021, February 17). The charges against them were serious, and they could have been hanged, but President Washington chose to pardon them. : Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, 1994). [5] Under the Militia Act of 1792, before the President could use State militia to repress an internal rebellion, a Federal judge had to rule that the laws of the United States were "opposed, or the execution thereof obstructed, in any state, by combinations too powerful to be suppressed by the ordinary course of judicial proceedings, or by the powers vested in the marshals by this act." [2] The proclamation appeared in the National Gazette on September 29, 1792. The Whiskey Rebellion ended not because of the threat posed by Hamilton's army, but because many of the concerns of the frontiersmen were finally addressed. Little did the common man know, the Whiskey Rebellion would be a pivotal event in the United States’ timeline heading into the future. Tax on distilled spirits caused enormous controversy in the early 1790s, especially along the western frontier of Pennsylvania. As the federal troops moved through western Pennsylvania, there were only two fatalities, both accidents. Hugh Henry Brackenridge, already a leading author and founder of the Pittsburgh Gazette, wrote a book on the uprising and would become a Pennsylvania Supreme Court justice. [10] William Findley, who urged peaceful protest of the whiskey tax, also wrote a book on the rebellion, and was elected repeatedly to Congress.[11]. Neville's house was burned to the ground. See "An Act concerning the Duties on Spirits distilled within the United States," passed May 8, 1792, in Peters, The Public Statutes at Large, vol. Albert Gallatin, Secretary of the Treasury (1801-1814). While in the assembly, however, Gallatin spoke out against an open, violent break with the National government, and he also served on the 15-member committee that met with President Washington's three commissioners in an attempt to end to the crisis peacefully. The farmers who were armed, threatened to bring down the Government rather than pay the tax. The successful suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion helped to confirm the supremacy of Federal law in the early United States and the right of Congress to levy and collect taxes on a nation-wide basis. On August 20, 1794, an American army under General "Mad" Anthony Wayne decisively defeated a confederation of Native Americans at the battle of Fallen Timbers, outside modern Toledo, Ohio. The whiskey tax was Hamilton’s chosen method of paying for part of this obligation, and the two leaders did not suggest an alternative. A problem arose as to how to pay off these debts, and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed a solution: an excise tax on whiskey produced in the United States. A shot was heard as Lennox and Neville rode off, but neither man was injured. A whiskey tax made sense in the context of the times. Large, commercial distillers in the eastern United States generally accepted the new excise tax since they could pass its cost onto their cash-paying customers. President Washington, astride a white horse, reviews his troops at Carlisle, Pennsylvania in September 1794. By the end of November, more than 150 people had been arrested; most were later freed due to lack of evidence. [8] George Washington to Henry Lee, October 20, 1794, George Washington Papers at the Library of Congress, 1741-1799, Series 2 Letterbooks, Letterbook 40. Albert Gallatin's house, "Friendship Hill," near Point Marion, Pennsylvania, is also a National Park Service site, and the house and grounds are open to visitors. Though the Whiskey Rebellion had represented a very serious challenge to federal power, and it was remarkable as it marked the last time George Washington would lead troops, it had no real lasting effect. General Lee also published the letter in his orders of October 21, 1794. Because roads at the time were so poor, transporting grain could be difficult, so it was easier to turn the grain into whiskey and then transport it. For details, including information on Gallatin 's role in the Whiskey Rebellion, see the Friendship Hill National Historic Site Web site at https://www.nps.gov/frhi/index.htm. Rum distillation in the United State… Given the opposition, his Fayette county neighbors elected him to the rebel assembly during the Whiskey Rebellion. As a result, many western counties never had a resident Federal tax official. 1, pgs. Naturally, many westerners quickly came to resent the new excise tax on their "currency.". But his return to military duty was difficult. A few rebels were arrested, but only two were tried and convicted. Given this difficulty, many frontier farmers distilled their surplus grain into more easily transportable whiskey. Robert J. McNamara is a history expert and former magazine journalist. All payments had to be made in cash to the Federal revenue officer appointed for the distiller's county. Following the whiskey tax becoming law in March 1791, officials were appointed to enforce the law and collect the tax. Some excise officers were kidnapped, tarred and feathered, and left suffering in the woods. Most had drifted back to their farms, and there were reports that some of the most ardent rebels had moved on to the Ohio territory. In July 1795, President Washington pardoned the two convicted men and those still in custody or under indictment. The hated tax on whiskey was repealed in the early 1800s. H.H. The hated tax on whiskey was repealed in the early 1800s. [1] Congress took this action at the urging of the first Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton. This was their main way of making money and they feared the tax would destroy their one decent source of income. Others were severely beaten. In addition, several sites associated with President George Washington's march west from Carlisle are marked as well, including the still-standing Espy House, his headquarters in Bedford, Pennsylvania. By 1794, the government was essentially incapable of collecting the tax in western Pennsylvania, thanks to an organized resistance movement. ThoughtCo. Unable to find a peaceful solution to the spreading rebellion, the Federal commissioners returned to Philadelphia on September 24, 1794, where they reported that it was "absolutely necessary that the civil authority should be aided by a military force in order to secure a due execution of the laws."[6]. Some soldiers stationed at a nearby fort arrived and helped Neville escape to safety. Favourite answer. It was therefore viewed by the Washington administration as a success, a view that has generally been endorsed by historians. Several days later, David Bradford, deputy county attorney for Washington County, took command of the rebels in the county. Washington’s strong response to the Whiskey Rebellion became, as future-President James Madison put it, “a lesson to every part of the Union against disobedience to the laws.” The Federalist Party: America's First Political Party, 1864 Sand Creek Massacre: History and Impact, Major Events That Led to the American Revolution, Biography of George Washington, First President of the United States, 4 Routes to the West Used by American Settlers, What Was the Regulator Movement? On August 20, 1794, an American army under General "Mad" Anthony Wayne decisively defeated a confederation of Native Americans at the battle of Fallen Timbers, outside modern Toledo, Ohio. The Pennsylvania farmers supplying the uprising's energy did not possess a high degree of allegiance to the new American government. When the tax bill became law, it wasn't popular anywhere in the country. In the end two men were convicted of treason and later pardoned by Washington. The crowd expressed grievances, but what could have turned into a violent riot was calmed. To support federal power to enforce the law, Congress passed the Militia Law of 1792. Whiskey Rebellion (1794) Revolt against the US government in w Pennsylvania. In the end, Washington and Hamilton did not need to lead troops into combat against fellow Americans. But in a confrontation, several men were shot on either side, some fatally. On September 25th, the President issued a proclamation declaring that he would not allow "a small portion of the United States [to] dictate to the whole union," and called on all persons "not to abet, aid, or comfort the Insurgents." He personally led 12,000 troops to end it. In late October 1794, the Federalized militia entered the western counties of Pennsylvania and sought out the whiskey rebels. Two weeks later, on August 1, 1794, about 7,000 local residents turned out for a mass meeting in Pittsburgh. On the morning of July 16, 1794, about 50 men armed with rifles surrounded the house of John Neville, a Revolutionary War veteran who was serving as a federal excise collector. The 1791 excise law set a varying six to 18-cent per gallon tax rate, with smaller distillers often paying more than twice per gallon what larger producers paid. The new tax collectors were provided with a manual, written by Hamilton, giving precise instructions on calculating the tax and keeping records. The President issued a proclamation on August 7th calling on the rebels" to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes. History and Significance, The Most Important Inventions of the Industrial Revolution. "The 1794 Whiskey Rebellion: History and Significance." It began with the excised tax of Whiskey in 1791. It was a hard life, and the danger from Native Americans unhappy about the encroachment on the land was a constant threat. In the summer of 1794, U.S. In September of 1794, this large militia began marching west, pursuing rebels and arresting them when they were caught. The rebellion grew in numbers, if not in actions, and threatened to spread to other states. There are many websites available for the Whiskey Rebellion. In late 1791, a tax collector in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was seized by a mob of masked men who marched him to a blacksmith shop and burned him with hot irons. President George Washington, painted in 1794. US President Washington knew he had to keep order and end the Whiskey Rebellion. [7] President Washington's proclamation was published in the Gazette of the United States ( Philadelphia ), September 25, 1794. How did the Whiskey Rebellion and Shays Rebellion end similarly? [8] Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton also remained with General Lee and the troops. As part of the compromises that led to the adoption of the United States Constitution in 1789, the new Federal government agreed to assume the Revolutionary War debts of the 13 States. Accessibility • Privacy Policy • No FEAR Act • Report Fraud Contact Webmaster • Site Feedback •, https://www.treasury.gov/about/history/Pages/edu_history_secretary_index.aspx, the University of Virginia's George Washington Papers Project Web site. However, most smaller producers west of the Appalachian and Allegheny Mountains, then the Nation's frontier, opposed the "whiskey tax. Associate Supreme Court Justice James Wilson authorized the use of the militia when he ruled on August 4, 1794, that the evidence presented to him showed a rebellion was underway in western Pennsylvania that could not be suppressed by normal judicial proceedings or by the area's U.S. The first, named after its nominal leader, Daniel Shays, erupted in western Massachusetts in the winter of 1786 and continued into the early months of 1787. However, in the counties west of Pennsylvania, the Whiskey Rebellion continued for over three years.5 In the end government authorities began to enforce the tax through legal action. In 1794 Washington was 62 years old. In 1814, Gallatin left the Department of the Treasury and helped negotiate the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. The western frontier regions, especially western Pennsylvania. In the 1780s, as Americans headed across the Allegheny range of mountains, they discovered that much of the good land was already in the hands of wealthy land speculators. What Happened During the Fries Rebellion of 1799? Whiskey Rebellion: In 1792, George Washington easily won a second term as president, but the federal government still would have many tests of its legitimacy and supremacy. In the early 1790s, the new tax on whiskey was viewed by the western settlers as an unfair tax designed to aid the financial class living in the cities of the East. [3] To address some of the westerners' concerns, Congress modified the excise act in May 1792 and again in June 1794. However, everyone involved seemed willing to move on from it. Confronted by these armed men, Neville shot and killed Oliver Miller. McNamara, Robert. In 1802, Gallatin oversaw the ending of all direct, internal Federal taxes, including the distilled spirits tax. By mid-November, the militia had arrested 150 rebels, including 20 prominent leaders of the insurrection. https://www.thoughtco.com/whiskey-rebellion-4797408 (accessed May 2, 2021). In addition, and probably more importantly, Hamilton was planning to leave his position at the end of the year. Unlike tariffs paid on goods imported into the United States, the excise tax on distilled spirits was a direct tax on Americans who produced whiskey and other alcohol spirits. The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 contradicts this myth. Elected to Congress after the rebellion, Gallatin worked for a more exact accounting of the Federal government's finances, leading President Thomas Jefferson to appoint him Secretary of the Treasury, a post he also held under President James Madison. He was Amazon.com's first-ever history editor and has bylines in New York, the Chicago Tribune, and other national outlets. The following day, more local residents surrounded Neville's property. The Washington administration and its supporters usually did not mention, however, that the whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, and th… The Whiskey Rebellion After the tax was passed, many of the farmers in the west remembered how the … Visit the University of Virginia's George Washington Papers Project Web site for information about viewing President Washington's diary entries for September and October 1794. [12] See Henry Adams, The Life of Albert Gallatin, (Philadelphia, J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1879), vol. The Washington administration's suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion met with widespread popular approval. To settlers along the western frontier at the time, comprising regions of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and North Carolina, the tax on whiskey was particularly offensive. In the mean time, almost 13,000 militiamen had gathered at Carlisle, Penn-sylvania, and prepared to march west to end the rebellion. With the adoption of the Constitution, the federal government assumed the Revolutionary War debts of the original 13 colonies. Brackenridge, Incidents of the Insurrection in the Western Parts of Pennsylvania in the Year 1794 ( Philadelphia : John M'Culloch, 1795); reprint, Daniel Marder, Incidents of the Insurrection, Edited for the Modern Reader (New Haven, Conn.: College & University Press, 1972). At one point, an armed mob of 7,000 people marched in Pittsburgh. By the time the troops got to the region of the rebellious activity, the rebels had simply disappeared. 1, pgs. Raymond Walter, Jr., Albert Gallatin, Jeffersonian Financier and Diplomat (New York: Macmillan, 1957). Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the Treasury (1789-1795). Even after the rebellion, however, many farmers still refused to pay the tax on Whiskey, a fact that the federal government did not want to admit. The Constitution, ratified in 1789, created a strong central government. President George Washington leading a militia to stop the Whiskey Rebellion. [4] Proclamation by the President, August 7, 1794, Pennsylvania Archives, 2nd series, vol. [9] Proclamation by Henry Lee, November 29, 1794, New Jersey Historical Society Archives, Manuscript Group 938, Henry Lee (1758-1818), Major General, General Orders, 1794, Call Number: MG 938. The families who had traveled into the region to settle, who were often immigrants from the British Isles or Germany, found themselves having to farm the least desirable land. Most whiskey rebels returned to their previous lives and occupations, and some rose to prominence in their communities and the Nation. New York, Lewis Pu… The protesters fled, but returned to Neville's house on July 17th with a force of 500 local militiamen. The Whiskey Rebellion was triggered by a tax imposed on distilled liquors in 1791. which farmers in western Pennsylvania believed was unfair since they made alcohols to sell. The law required all stills to be registered, and those cited for failure to pay the tax had to appear in distant Federal, rather than local, courts. Despite appeals from anti-tax leaders such as newspaper publisher Hugh Henry Brackenridge and businessman and State legislator Albert Gallatin for a peaceful resolution of the crisis, calls went out for the local militia to gather at Braddock's Field near Pittsburgh. What was the cause of the Whiskey Rebellion quizlet? [2]. In the end, the Whiskey Rebellion served as one of the first tests of the new Constitution and the Federal government's authority. Leland D. Baldwin, Whiskey Rebels: The Story of a Frontier Uprising (Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh, 1939). In addition, plaques mark the location of the homes of whiskey tax collectors John Neville in Allegheny County and Benjamin Wells in Fayette County.Rebels burned both houses in 1794. President George Washington took notice of the resistance to the whiskey tax and issued a proclamation on September 15, 1792, condemning interference with the "operation of the laws of the United States for raising revenue upon spirits distilled within the same." Most importantly, The government's act on the rebellion showed the willingness and power of the new federal government to suppress violence and resistance to laws of the United States. Even George Washington, in the years before he became president, had invested in thousands of acres of prime land in western Pennsylvania. "The 1794 Whiskey Rebellion: History and Significance." troops and personally led them to the area of rebellion. The group besieging Neville's house demanded that he resign his position and turn over any information about local distillers he had gathered. Though the Whiskey Rebellion had represented a very serious challenge to federal power, and it was remarkable as it marked the last time George Washington would lead troops, it had no real lasting effect. That was, of course, a burden on the government, and the first secretary of the treasury, Alexander Hamilton, proposed a tax on whiskey which would raise some of the needed money. Only a few men were tried and just two were convicted of treason. 1, pgs. Byron King recounts the seminal role the Whiskey Tax and subsequent Whiskey Rebellion played … By 1802, Congress repealed the distilled spirits excise tax and all other internal Federal taxes. The sites below are just a sampling of what is available: Archiving Early America: The Whiskey Rebellion http://www.earlyamerica.com/milestone-events/whiskey-rebellion/ "The Whiskey Rebellion," in The History of Bedford and Somerset Counties, by E. Howard Blackburn and William H. Welfley. When the U.S. government sent tax collectors west, farmers grabbed their muskets to defend their rights. The rebels then burnt the Neville's house and barn to the ground. In the end, the rebellion was put down and order restored. A shootout ensued, and Neville's slaves joined the fight by firing on the mob from their quarters. President Washington was disturbed to hear reports that the rebels may have been meeting with representatives of foreign governments, Britain and Spain, about possibly leaving the United States entirely. Anti-whiskey tax violence quickly spread to other counties along the frontier. The situation eventually erupted in violence considered serious enough that federal troops, led by Alexander Hamilton and President George Washington, marched on the region in 1794 to suppress the rebellion. 6-7; reprinted Life of Albert Gallatin, Selections, with and introduction by Raymond Walters, Jr. (New York: Chelsea House, 1983). It was provoked by a tax on whisky , and was the first serious challenge to federal authority. The federal government was greatly alarmed by the activity in western Pennsylvania. Of the whiskey rebels who were arrested, many were released due to a lack of evidence. Markers also note the location of a Miller family farmstead and the home of rebel leader David Bradford, both of which are now museums and open to the public. "[5] The same day, Secretary of War Henry Knox sent a letter to the governors of Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia requesting a total of 12,950 militiamen to put down the rebellion. It was also the greatest domestic crisis of President Washington's administration. 199-214. The Whiskey Rebellion brought shades of France's anarchy and violence to the American republic, and the fear of similar mob rule on the part of the administration and its supporters cannot be underestimated. Author of the tax, Alexander Hamilton urged stern measures to put down the rebellion, and troops were organized to march to the frontier in late 1794. Shay's rebellion exposed a weak government and the Whiskey Rebellion showed the power of the new Constitution. The episode exposed a deep fissure in early American society, a bitter split between financiers in the East and settlers in the West. Under the President's authority, General Lee issued a general pardon on November 29th for all those who taken part "in the wicked and unhappy tumults and disturbances lately existing" with the exception of 33 men named in the document. A shootout with the soldiers left rebel leader James McFarlane dead, but the greatly outnumbered Federals later surrendered. [10] See H.H. Two were convicted of treason, but Washington later pardoned them. 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