The Whiskey Rebellion 1791 - Essay Example

As the post American revolutionary war government began to take form, the Federalists implemented the United States Constitution. With it came the subsequent election of government officials. America’s hero, General George Washington became the nations first president. In order to maintain a degree of continuity, President Washington asked congress to carry over the existing departments of the Confederation (Henretta ..., n.d.). Congress agreed and President Washington chose to appoint Henry Knox as the Secretary of War, Thomas Jefferson as the Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury. The appointment of Jefferson and Hamilton would later have a great impact as the two had conflicting views about the future role of the American government. It was Hamilton’s goal and responsibility as Treasurer in this new government to reduce or eliminate the massive debt incurred by the Revolutionary war. Hamilton was a very smart individual. He devised and implemented several strategies in order to reduce the national debt and provide stability to the American economy (Henretta …, n.d.). Overall, his policies worked very well and the nation prospered as the debt was paid down. However, his fiscal policies divided the government and the people into distinct groups with opposing political views, those who sided with Hamilton and those who supported Jefferson’s small government views. One of Hamilton’s policies included an excise tax on spirits in order to pay the interest on the national debt. This tax did not sit well with western Pennsylvania distillers whose main source of income was the production and sale of whiskey (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.). Image retrieved from: http://www.whiskeyrebellion.info/brad91.html In the image above, men in western Pennsylvania attack tax collector Robert Johnson. The men cut off his hair, stripped him naked, covered him in tar and feathers, and finally took his horse (Redstone Fort, n.d.). The violence depicted here clearly illustrates the strong opposition to Alexander Hamilton’s excise tax on whiskey. Hamilton’s taxation of spirits in 1791 placed an enormous burden on poor western farmers. At that time it was safer and more economical for western farmers to convert their crop into alcohol as it had a longer shelf-life and was easier to transport over the dangerous and poorly developed roads leading east for sale in more populated areas (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.). This taxation had less of a negative impact on larger wealthier farmers who were able to continue to operate even with the incurred tax (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.). In addition to the opposition of the tax, the people of the western Pennsylvania frontier felt a certain degree of disconnect and resentment toward the government and the more populated eastern region (U.S. Military Defeat, n.d.). The issue stemmed from years of consistent lack of support in battles with Native Americans and the sense that the elite of the government in the east had no concept of the conditions of day-to-day life in the western frontier (U.S. Military Defeat, n.d.). Regardless, many were angered and refused to pay the tax. The tax took effect on March 3, 1791. Over the summer meetings in protest would take place throughout the affected counties and violence toward collectors became common, eventually leading to the September 6,1791 tarring and feathering of Robert Johnson. By May 8, 1792, the government agreed to lower the tax but the reduction failed to quell the opposition, as the real issue wasn’t the amount of the tax but rather the existence of the tax at all. President Washington attempted to resolve the issue peacefully with his words through a national proclamation in which he admonished the westerners for their opposition to the tax (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.). The tax remained and the opposition grew increasingly violent. In July 1794 the incidents came to a head with shots fired between whiskey rebels, tax collectors and the troops guarding them, ending in the burning of tax collector John Neville’s home. Other protests spread across the region. The intensification of events forced the government to act. In a bit of irony, George Washington would lead a group of nearly 13,000 militia-men at the suggestion of Hamilton to break up the protest and enforce the tax on spirits (U.S. Military Defeat, n.d.) when in years prior, he lead the militia in war against Britain partly due to British taxes placed on the colonies. When Washington arrived with the troops at the site of the protest near Pittsburgh, the protesters had gone and the troops were forced to search for protesters to arrest. Approximately 150 were eventually arrested and tried for treason. A lack of evidence and witnesses led to the release of all but two men who were actually found guilty of treason, the men were later pardoned by President Washington (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.). In 1802, newly elected President Thomas Jefferson repealed the much-disputed tax on whiskey. These events illustrate the diversity of opinion and the unique set of issues faced by the newly formed American government. It also illustrates the disconnect between certain regions who face different challenges. The challenge of the new government was to find balance in a “one size fits all” government system. It is clearly demonstrated through the events of the Whiskey Rebellion that the distance and the fundamental difference in philosophy between the rural pioneer west and the evolution of the more populous government centers of the east played an important role in the violent outcome of the tax. The American government response to the events of the Whiskey Rebellion would prove to be significant as it successfully asserted its dominance and put an end to the challenge of authority. This was not the first event of its kind, but it was the first true test of authority in the post constitutional era. Perhaps the more lasting outcome would be the divide among political factions that came about through the events of the Whiskey Rebellion. References Henretta, A., J., Edwards, Rebecca, Self, O., R. (01/2012). America: A Concise History, Volume One: To 1877, 5th Edition. [VitalSource Bookshelf Online]. Retrieved from https://online.vitalsource.com/#/books/9781457664434/ Redstone Fort - July 27, 1791, Opposition to the Whiskey Excise Tax, Whiskey Rebellion. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.whiskeyrebellion.info/brad91.html U.S. Military Defeat; Indian Victory in the West. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.ushistory.org/us/18d.asp Whiskey Rebellion. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.mountvernon.org/research-collections/digital-encyclopedia/article/whiskey-rebellion/ Read More