Compare And Contrast Shay's Rebellion And Whiskey Rebellion

The Whisky Rebellion tax and the rebellion itself built support for the republicans which took over Washington’s federalist Party power in 1802. Republicans which over took Washington’s power in 1802. In 1794 thousands of farmers in western Pennsylvania took up arms in opposition to the enforcement of a federal law calling for imposition of an excise tax on distilled spirits. This insurrection represented the largest organized resistance against federal authority between the American Revolution and the Civil War. A number of the whisky rebels were prosecuted for treason in what were the first such legal proceedings in the United States.

The Whiskey Rebellion event led the new U.S. government to establish a federal authority by military within the state borders. The military moved to western Pennsylvania to put in end to the uprising of settlers rebelling against the liquor tax in 1794. Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the Treasury during that time, he proposed the excise tax which was the first national internal revenue tax that was passed by Congress in 1794. Hamilton believed that the excise tax would raise money for the national debt and to maintain the national government’s power. The small farmers were the one who produced and consumed whiskey. Whiskey was easier to transport and sell than the grain. The production helped many small farmers sell and make a lot of profit

In 1791, Congress created an excise tax to help aid the nation debt that had accumulated from previous warfare. Many people from many places in the nation did not like this tax because it was interfering in the way they made money. Whiskey was extremely valuable to them and was a main source of income through bartering and even served as currency. Not only was whiskey important for the economy but it was also used for many purposes in daily living, from

The Whiskey Rebellion occurred soon after an excise tax was placed on Whiskey. Many people living in Western Pennsylvania and Maryland produced Whiskey from their homes, which they then sold or used as a form of currency. A fairly large group of men protested in an extremely violent way. The men attacked a tax collector, formed mobs, attacked arsenals, and “raised liberty poles” (Document A). Rumors about rebels negotiating with England and Spain frightened the federal government, as stated in Document A. As a response to this destructive behavior, President Washington led an army of 12,950 militiamen to suppress the rebellion. It is evident that George Washington’s response to the Whiskey Rebellion showed that the Constitution had fixed the

In the United States beginning in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion was one of the challenges during the presidency of George Washington. People refused to pay tax on whiskey in Western PA, and the first tax imposed was called the Whiskey Tax. George Washington was the president during this challenge and in 1794 Washington took charge and sent 12,000 troops and rebellion dissolved. This was the first time ever that force was used to dissolve problems. The Whiskey Rebellion was the first serious problem to federal authority and it started with a tax on whiskey. The rebellion fell apart, when Washington called out the militia. This event occurred after the Revolution and this rebellion was significant in the early days of the new government. As a result, there were financial problems such as debt and Hamilton’s 4 Part Plan was to pay of debt and one of his examples was the Whiskey

In the preamble of the Constitution, one of the reason given as to why it was drafted is to “insure domestic Tranquility.” Washington’s response to the rebellion proved that the federal government was not going to let anyone threaten the peace in the union. Additionally, Washington’s response showed the power that was granted to the President with in the constitution. Article two section three of the constitution gives the president the responsibility to see that laws are being “faithfully executed”. As members of the United States, the farmers had an obligation to pay the tax whether they agreed or disagreed with it. That is why Washington felt that it was so important it send troops to Pennsylvania to quell the rebellion. In addition to stopping the gathering of rebels, Alexander Hamilton saw it necessary to exert the full force of the law in punishing those who could be proven involved. Even though the tax was repealed, it was a significant stand by the federal government proving they had the power to enforce the laws. In addition to proving the power of the federal government, the whiskey rebellion showed the citizens that they needed to have a more active role in government. If they had an issue with a law, their response could not be to go burn down a house. They needed to leverage the powers of a democracy and the liberties granted in the constitution to create the change they want to

Post-Revolution America was not a fairy tale. It is common knowledge that war of any type is a rather expensive endeavor. Naturally, at some point these costs of war must be paid regardless of the state of the economy. In addition, it was also clear that the Federal Government of the United States was not allowed to levy taxes per the Articles of Confederation, as such; this burden fell on the states. Shays Rebellion lead by Daniel Shays was an uprising to close the courts and prevent property seizure of unpaid debts (Manning). In the foreword to Secretary of War Henry Knox’s, letter to George Washington it is mentioned that many members of the states felt oppressed by the taxes levied on them. Knox’s letter then goes on to discuss a brief

Another reason I believe in the actions is because the farmers were trying to fight for the right to not pay these taxes and not go to jail, leaving their families behind. On the website History.com, it states “they harassed the leading merchants, lawyers, and supporters of the state government.” This tells me that they were doing whatever it took to get the government's attention to handle the problem. Also on this website it describes how Shays’ Rebellion was crushed by the local militia. Fortunately, this problem did not threaten the stability and structure of the United States. In the article “How Shays’ Rebellion Changed America”, it claims that the rebellion pushed George Washington to become president, which was vital for the Constitution. The rebellion uprising also pushed plans for a stronger government because there were already so many problems. These plans for a stronger government led the framers to write the draft for the United States Constitution. These actions the rebellion brought actually help the Constitution come together to form a stronger national

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.

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 purpose of this document was to catalog the problems America was having before Shay’s Rebellion happened and the transition to a strong central

In 1791, congress had placed a federal tax on whiskey to help get rid of the national debt the consisted of $54 million. Whiskey was extremely valuable for it was an all purpose liquor used by many. So in 1794 thousands of pennsylvanian farmers in opposition to the tax got together and rebelled against federal law, and eventually George Washington had to send in enforcement and peace commissioners.

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

The course began in the year 1789, a significant year of transition for the United States. A decade or so prior, the United States was embroiled in a conflict over the inability of a foreign power to govern an overseas territories without proper representation in the foreign power’s government. This conflict, The American Revolution, may be the first significant radical movement in the history of the United States. However, the American Revolution led to unprecedented reforms in North American society. The Civil War, another significant example of a radical movement in the United States, began as a conflict over the issue of states rights. However, it quickly escalated into an issue of the legality and morality of slavery and

The Whiskey Rebellion was created from many issues, not just the excise tax on whiskey. Farmers in western Pennsylvania blocked roads to prevent tax collectors from reaching them and to show their disdain for the taxes placed on the farmers that they