There are many websites available for the Whiskey Rebellion. Using your favorite search engine, type "whiskey rebellion" as the search term and explore the many different websites. The sites below are just a sampling of what is available. Additional works on this topic in the Library of Congress may be identified by searching the Library of Congress Online Catalog under appropriate Library of Congress subject headings. Choose the topics you wish to search from the following list of subject headings to link directly to the Catalog and automatically execute a search for the subject selected.
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Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division. What was the root cause of this rebellion? Print Resources The following titles link to fuller bibliographic information in the Library of Congress Online Catalog.
B The momentous story of how George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams navigated the crises of the s and in the process bound the states into a unified nation. In the decade following the ratification of the Constitution, the republic's existence was contingent and fragile, challenged by domestic rebellions, foreign interference, and the always-present danger of collapse into mob rule.
Carol Berkin reveals that the nation survived almost entirely due to the actions of the Federalist leadership -- George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and John Adams.
Reacting to successive crises, they extended the power of the federal government and fended off foreign attempts to subvert American sovereignty. As Berkin argues, the result was a spike in nationalism, as ordinary citizens began to identify with their nation first, their home states second. While the Revolution freed the states and the Constitution linked them as never before, this landmark work shows that it was the Federalists who transformed the states into an enduring nation.
Boyd Call Number: E W65 Boyd presents an anthology composed of both old and recent scholarship that highlights the conflicting interpretations. Although the work is not meant to be definitive, it will certainly add to an understanding of this event and assist scholars in future research.
Contributors are all published authorities in the field. The collection is well organized, contains informative endnotes and pertinent appendixes. Readers with an interest in history will find the book useful and interesting. A must buy for college, university, and larger public libraries. B78 Reprint of the ed. Available online from Hathi Trust External. H64 A gripping and provocative tale of violence, alcohol, and taxes, The Whiskey Rebellion pits President George Washington and Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton against angry, armed settlers across the Appalachians.
Unearthing a pungent segment of early American history long ignored by historians, William Hogeland brings to startling life the rebellion that decisively contributed to the establishment of federal authority. P41 2d ser. Residents viewed this tax as yet another instance of unfair policies dictated by the eastern elite that negatively affected American citizens on the frontier.
Western farmers felt the tax was an abuse of federal authority wrongly targeting a demographic that relied on crops such as corn, rye, and grain to earn a profit. However, shipping this harvest east was dangerous because of poor storage and dangerous roads. As a result, farmers frequently distilled their grain into liquor which was easier to ship and preserve. While large-scale farmers easily incurred the financial strain of an additional tax, indigent farmers were less able to do so without falling into dire financial straits.
President Washington sought to resolve this dispute peacefully. In , he issued a national proclamation admonishing westerners for their resistance to the "operation of the laws of the United States for raising revenue upon spirits distilled within the same.
In July, nearly whiskey rebels near Pittsburgh set fire to the home of John Neville, the regional tax collection supervisor. Left with little recourse and at the urgings of Secretary Hamilton, Washington organized a militia force of 12, men and led them towards Western Pennsylvania, warning locals "not to abet, aid, or comfort the Insurgents aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril.
The calling of the militia had the desired effect of essentially ending the Whiskey Rebellion. By the time the militia reached Pittsburgh, the rebels had dispersed and could not be found. The militia apprehended approximately men and tried them for treason.
A paucity of evidence and the inability to obtain witnesses hampered the trials. The Whiskey Rebellion is considered one of the first major tests of the authority of the newly formed U. During the American Revolution , individual states incurred significant debt. In Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pushed for the federal government to take over that debt.
He also suggested an excise tax on whiskey to prevent further financial difficulty. In Washington journeyed through Virginia and Pennsylvania to speak with citizens about their views. Local government officials met the idea of a whiskey tax with enthusiasm, and Washington took this assurance back to Congress, which passed the bill. But protests against the new tax began immediately, arguing that the tax was unfair to small producers. Under the new law, large producers paid the tax annually at a rate of six cents per gallon, and the more they produced, the further the tax breaks.
Small producers, however, were stuck with paying nine cents per gallon in taxes. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment. The law was immediately a failure, since refusals to pay the taxes were as common as intimidation against officials hired to collect them. Excise officers sent to collect the tax were met with defiance and threats of violence.
Some producers refused to pay the tax. Perhaps inevitably, violence broke out. On September 11, , excise officer Robert Johnson was riding through his collection route in western Pennsylvania when he was surrounded by 11 men dressed as women.
The mob stripped him naked and then tarred and feathered him before stealing his horse and abandoning him in the forest. Johnson recognized two men in the mob. He made a complaint and warrants were issued for their arrest.
A cattle drover named John Connor was sent with the warrants, and he suffered the same fate as Johnson. He was tied to a tree in the woods for five hours before being found.
In response, Johnson resigned his post, fearing further violence. Incidents escalated over the next few years. In , the home of Pennsylvania excise officer Benjamin Wells was broken into twice. The second incident involved six men in disguises who attacked Wells while he was at home. Feeling unrepresented in Congress, the citizens of Western Pennsylvania gathered their own assembly with three to five representatives per county. While radical members pushed for open rebellion, moderates like Hugh Henry Brackenridge and future Secretary of the U.
Treasury Albert Gallatin urged conciliatory measures. In the summer of , federal marshal David Lenox began the process of serving writs to 60 distillers in western Pennsylvania who had not paid the tax. On July 14, Lenox accepted the services of tax collector and wealthy landowner John Neville as guide through Allegheny County. On July 15, they approached the home of William Miller, who refused to accept his summons.
An argument ensued, and when Lenox and Neville rode off, they were face-to-face with an angry mob, armed with pitchforks and muskets—some were believed to be drunk.
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