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The Whiskey Rebellion was a protest against the excise tax on whiskey in western Pennsylvania in 1791. The tax was unpopular with farmers and distillers, leading to riots and conflict with federal troops. President George Washington sent troops to restore order, marking the first time the US government took direct action against citizens opposing federal laws.
The Whiskey Rebellion was formed out of a series of incidents that occurred during the late summer of 1791 in the American farm country of western Pennsylvania. The federal government had levied an excise tax on the popular brandy to help pay off the new nation’s debts from its recent war for independence. The tax greatly reduced the profits of corn farmers and small-scale whiskey distillers, leading many of them to angrily riot by harassing and intimidating the tax agents charged with collecting the whiskey tax. The level of resistance soon escalated to the point of conflict between the peasants and federal troops sent to restore order to the region. The Whiskey Rebellion resulted in the first instance of the United States government taking direct action against citizens who intentionally opposed established federal laws.
When the excise tax on whiskey became law, it immediately became unpopular with lower-income western grain farmers. They believed the tax unfairly targeted people who bartered whiskey instead of paying any currency in exchange for other goods because the tax was structured as a tax on additional income. The exact amount of tax on each unit of whiskey amounted to about 25% of its total value. The tax also seemed to favor the larger distillers, mostly located along the east coast, who could afford to pay a flat tax instead of a per gallon. Some historians also consider the policy behind the Whiskey Rebellion to be one of the first American attempts to legislate morality by taxing a product that many viewed as harmful.
The beginnings of the Whiskey Rebellion generally consisted of written petitions that Western farmers submitted to the federal government. When this measure failed to repeal the whiskey tax, protests escalated into riots that included mob violence. A tax collector’s home was burned down, and at least one Pennsylvania tax agent was publicly punished by being tarred and feathered.
These riots caused then-President George Washington to take steps to stop the Whiskey Rebellion before it spiraled completely out of control. After issuing a written order to desist which he ignored, he then sent federal troops into western Pennsylvania to restore order. This decision was the first of its kind for the young nation to enact a temporary militia law to send the message that all states were effectively subordinate to the national government.
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