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Whiskey Rebellion 1 Whiskey Rebellion The Whiskey Rebellion, less commonly known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a resistance movement in what was the western part of the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. The conflict was rooted in western dissatisfaction with various policies of the eastern-based national government. The name of the uprising comes from a 1791 excise tax on whiskey that was a central grievance of the westerners. The tax was a part of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton's program to centralize and fund the national debt. The whiskey excise was unpopular among small farmers on the western frontier, where protesters used violence and intimidation to prevent government officials from collecting the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, when a U.S. marshal arrived in western Pennsylvania to serve writs to distillers who had not paid the excise. The alarm was raised, and more than 500 armed Pennsylvanians attacked the fortified home of tax inspector General John Neville. The Washington administration responded by sending peace commissioners to western Pennsylvania to negotiate with the rebels, while at the same time raising a militia force to suppress the violence. The insurrection collapsed before the arrival of the army; about 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned. The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the willingness and ability to suppress violent resistance to its laws. The whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, however. The events contributed to the formation of political parties in the United States, a process already underway. The whiskey tax was repealed after Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party, which opposed Hamilton's Federalist Party, came to power in 1800. Whiskey tax Alexander Hamilton in a 1792 portrait by John Trumbull A new U.S. federal government began operating in 1789, following the ratification of the United States Constitution. The previous government under the Articles of Confederation had been unable to levy taxes; it had borrowed money to meet expenses, accumulating $54 million in debt. The states had amassed an additional $25 million in debt. [1] Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, sought to use this debt to create a financial system that would promote American prosperity and national unity. In his Report on Public Credit, he urged Congress to consolidate the state and national debts into a single debt that would be funded by the federal government. Congress approved these measures in June and July of 1790. [2] A source of government revenue was needed to pay the bond holders to whom the debt was owed. By December 1790, Hamilton believed that import duties, which were the government's primary source of revenue, had been raised as high as was feasible. [3] He therefore promoted passage of an excise tax on domestically distilled spirits. This was to be the first tax levied by the national government on a domestic product. [4] Although taxes were politically unpopular, Hamilton believed that the whiskey excise was a luxury tax that would be the least objectionable tax that the government could levy. [5] In this he had the support of some social reformers, who hoped that a "sin tax" would raise public awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol. [6] The whiskey excise act, sometimes known as the "Whiskey Act", became law in March 1791. [7]

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Page 1: Whiskey Rebellion - resources.saylor.org · Whiskey Rebellion 2 Western grievances The whiskey excise was immediately controversial, with many people on the frontier arguing that

Whiskey Rebellion 1

Whiskey RebellionThe Whiskey Rebellion, less commonly known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a resistance movement in whatwas the western part of the United States in the 1790s, during the presidency of George Washington. The conflictwas rooted in western dissatisfaction with various policies of the eastern-based national government. The name ofthe uprising comes from a 1791 excise tax on whiskey that was a central grievance of the westerners. The tax was apart of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton's program to centralize and fund the national debt.The whiskey excise was unpopular among small farmers on the western frontier, where protesters used violence andintimidation to prevent government officials from collecting the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, whena U.S. marshal arrived in western Pennsylvania to serve writs to distillers who had not paid the excise. The alarmwas raised, and more than 500 armed Pennsylvanians attacked the fortified home of tax inspector General JohnNeville. The Washington administration responded by sending peace commissioners to western Pennsylvania tonegotiate with the rebels, while at the same time raising a militia force to suppress the violence. The insurrectioncollapsed before the arrival of the army; about 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned.The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the willingness and ability to suppressviolent resistance to its laws. The whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, however. The events contributed tothe formation of political parties in the United States, a process already underway. The whiskey tax was repealedafter Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party, which opposed Hamilton's Federalist Party, came to power in 1800.

Whiskey tax

Alexander Hamilton in a 1792 portrait by JohnTrumbull

A new U.S. federal government began operating in 1789, following theratification of the United States Constitution. The previous governmentunder the Articles of Confederation had been unable to levy taxes; ithad borrowed money to meet expenses, accumulating $54 million indebt. The states had amassed an additional $25 million in debt.[1]

Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, sought to usethis debt to create a financial system that would promote Americanprosperity and national unity. In his Report on Public Credit, he urgedCongress to consolidate the state and national debts into a single debtthat would be funded by the federal government. Congress approvedthese measures in June and July of 1790.[2]

A source of government revenue was needed to pay the bond holdersto whom the debt was owed. By December 1790, Hamilton believedthat import duties, which were the government's primary source ofrevenue, had been raised as high as was feasible.[3] He thereforepromoted passage of an excise tax on domestically distilled spirits.This was to be the first tax levied by the national government on adomestic product.[4] Although taxes were politically unpopular,Hamilton believed that the whiskey excise was a luxury tax that would be the least objectionable tax that thegovernment could levy.[5] In this he had the support of some social reformers, who hoped that a "sin tax" would raisepublic awareness about the harmful effects of alcohol.[6] The whiskey excise act, sometimes known as the "WhiskeyAct", became law in March 1791.[7]

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Whiskey Rebellion 2

Western grievancesThe whiskey excise was immediately controversial, with many people on the frontier arguing that the tax unfairlytargeted westerners.[8] Whiskey was a popular drink, and farmers often supplemented their income by operatingsmall stills.[9] Farmers living west of the Appalachian Mountains distilled their excess grain into whiskey, which waseasier and more profitable to transport over the mountains than the more cumbersome grain. A whiskey tax wouldmake western farmers less competitive with eastern grain producers.[10] Additionally, cash was always in shortsupply on the frontier, and so whiskey often served as a medium of exchange. For poorer people who were paid inwhiskey, the excise was essentially an income tax that wealthier easterners did not pay.[11]

Small farmers also protested that Hamilton's excise effectively gave unfair tax breaks to large distillers, most ofwhom were based in the east. There were two methods of paying the whiskey excise: paying a flat fee or paying bythe gallon. Large distillers produced whiskey in volume and could afford the flat fee. The more efficient theybecame, the less tax per gallon they would pay. Western farmers who owned small stills did not usually operate themyear-round at full capacity, and so they ended up paying a higher tax per gallon, which made them lesscompetitive.[12] Small distillers believed that Hamilton deliberately designed the tax to ruin them and promote bigbusiness, a view endorsed by some historians.[13] However, historian Thomas Slaughter argued that a "conspiracy ofthis sort is difficult to document".[14] Whether by design or not, large distillers recognized the advantage that theexcise gave them, and they supported the tax.[15]

In addition to the whiskey tax, westerners had a number of other grievances with the national government. Chiefamong these was the perception that the government was not adequately protecting the western frontier: theNorthwest Indian War was going badly for the U.S., with major losses in 1791. Furthermore, westerners wereprohibited by Spain (which then owned Louisiana) from using the Mississippi River for commercial navigation.Until these issues were addressed, westerners felt that government was ignoring their security and economic welfare.Adding the whiskey excise to these existing grievances only increased tensions on the frontier.[16]

ResistanceMany residents of the western frontier petitioned against passage of the whiskey excise. When that failed, somewestern Pennsylvanians organized extralegal conventions to advocate repeal of the law.[17] Opposition to the tax wasparticularly prevalent in four southwestern counties: Allegheny, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland.[18] Apreliminary meeting held on July 27, 1791, at Redstone Old Fort in Fayette County called for the selection ofdelegates to a more formal assembly, which convened in Pittsburgh in early September 1791. The Pittsburghconvention was dominated by moderates like Hugh Henry Brackenridge, who hoped to prevent the outbreak ofviolence.[19] The convention sent a petition for redress of grievances to the Pennsylvania Assembly and the U.SHouse of Representatives, both located in Philadelphia.[20] As a result of this and other petitions, the excise law wasmodified in May 1792. Changes included a 1-cent reduction in the tax that was advocated by William Findley, acongressman from western Pennsylvania, but the new excise law was still unsatisfactory to many westerners.[21]

"Famous Whiskey Insurrection in Pennsylvania",an 1880 illustration of a tarred and feathered tax

collector being made to ride the rail.

Appeals to nonviolent resistance were unsuccessful. On September 11,1791, a recently appointed tax collector named Robert Johnson wastarred and feathered by a disguised gang in Washington County.[22] Aman sent by officials to serve court warrants to Johnson's attackers waswhipped, tarred, and feathered.[23] Because of these and other violentattacks, the tax went uncollected in 1791 and early 1792.[24] Theattackers modeled their actions on the protests of the AmericanRevolution. Supporters of the excise argued that there was a differencebetween taxation without representation in colonial America, and a tax

laid by the elected representatives of the American people.[25]

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Although older accounts of the Whiskey Rebellion portrayed it as being confined to western Pennsylvania, there wasopposition to the whiskey tax in the western counties of every other state in Appalachia (Maryland, Virginia, NorthCarolina, South Carolina, and Georgia).[26] The whiskey tax went uncollected throughout the frontier state ofKentucky, where no one could be convinced to enforce the law or prosecute evaders.[27] In 1792, Hamiltonadvocated military action to suppress violent resistance in western North Carolina, but Attorney General EdmundRandolph argued that there was insufficient evidence to legally justify such a reaction.[28]

In August 1792, a second convention was held in Pittsburgh to discuss resistance to the whiskey tax. This meetingwas more radical than the first convention; moderates such as Brackenridge and Findley were not in attendance. Onemoderate who did attend—to his later regret—was Albert Gallatin, a future secretary of the treasury.[29] A militantgroup known as the Mingo Creek Association dominated the convention and issued radical demands. As some ofthem had done in the American Revolution, they raised liberty poles, formed committees of correspondence, andtook control of the local militia. They created an extralegal court and discouraged lawsuits for debt collection andforeclosures.[30]

Hamilton regarded the second Pittsburgh convention as a serious threat to the operation of the laws of the federalgovernment. In September 1792, he sent Pennsylvania tax official George Clymer to western Pennsylvania toinvestigate. Clymer's clumsy attempt at traveling in disguise, and his efforts to intimidate local officials, onlyincreased tensions. His somewhat exaggerated report would greatly influence the decisions made by the Washingtonadministration.[31] Washington and Hamilton viewed resistance to federal laws in Pennsylvania as particularlyembarrassing, since the national capital was then located in the same state. On his own initiative, Hamilton drafted apresidential proclamation denouncing resistance to the excise laws and submitted it to Attorney General Randolph,who toned down some of the language. Washington signed the proclamation on September 15, 1792. It waspublished as a broadside and printed in many newspapers.[32]

The federal tax inspector for western Pennsylvania, General John Neville, was determined to enforce the exciselaw.[33] Neville, a prominent politician and wealthy planter, was also a large scale distiller. He had initially opposedthe whiskey tax, but subsequently changed his mind, a reversal that angered some western Pennsylvanians.[34] InAugust 1792, Neville rented a room in Pittsburgh for his tax office, but the landlord turned him out after beingthreatened with violence by the Mingo Creek Association.[35] From this point on, tax collectors were not the onlypeople targeted in Pennsylvania: those who cooperated with federal tax officials also faced harassment. Anonymousnotes and newspaper articles signed by "Tom the Tinker" threatened those who complied with the whiskey tax.Those who failed to heed the warnings might have their barns burned or their stills destroyed.[36]

Resistance to the excise tax continued through 1793 in the frontier counties of Appalachia. Opposition remainedespecially strident in western Pennsylvania.[37] In June, Neville was burned in effigy by a crowd of about 100 peoplein Washington County.[38] On the night of November 22, 1793, men broke into the home of tax collector BenjaminWells in Fayette County. Wells was, like Neville, one of the wealthier men in the region.[39] At gunpoint, theintruders forced Wells to surrender his commission.[37] President Washington offered a reward for the arrest of theassailants, to no avail.[40]

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Insurrection

In his 1796 book, Congressman William Findleyargued that Alexander Hamilton had deliberately

provoked the Whiskey Rebellion.

The resistance came to a climax in 1794. In May of that year, federaldistrict attorney William Rawle issued subpoenas for more than 60distillers in Pennsylvania who had not paid the excise tax.[41] Underthe law then in effect, distillers who received these writs would beobligated to travel to Philadelphia to appear in federal court. Forfarmers on the western frontier, such a journey was expensive, timeconsuming, and beyond their means.[42] At the urging of WilliamFindley, Congress modified this law on June 5, 1794, allowing excisetrials to be held in local state courts.[43] But by that time, U.S. marshalDavid Lenox had already been sent to serve the writs summoningdelinquent distillers to Philadelphia. Attorney General WilliamBradford later maintained that the writs were meant to compelcompliance with the law, and that the government did not actuallyintend to hold trials in Philadelphia.[44]

The timing of these events would later prove to be controversial. In hisbook on the insurrection, Findley—a bitter political foe ofHamilton—maintained that the treasury secretary had deliberatelyprovoked the uprising by issuing the subpoenas just before the law was made less onerous.[45] In 1963, historianJacob Cooke, an editor of Hamilton's papers, regarded this charge as "preposterous", calling it a "conspiracy thesis"that overstated Hamilton's control of the federal government.[46] In 1986, historian Thomas Slaughter argued that theoutbreak of the insurrection at this moment was due to "a string of ironic coincidences", although "the question aboutmotives must always remain".[47] In 2006, William Hogeland portrayed Hamilton, Bradford, and Rawle asintentionally pursuing a course of action that would provoke "the kind of violence that would justify federal militarysuppression".[48] According to Hogeland, Hamilton had been working towards this moment since the NewburghCrisis in 1783, where he conceived of using military force to crush popular resistance to direct taxation, for thepurpose of promoting national unity and enriching the creditor class at the expense of common taxpayers.[49] Thehistorian Samuel E. Morison believed that, in general, Hamilton wished to enforce the excise law "more as a measureof social discipline than as a source of revenue..."[50]

Battle of Bower HillFederal Marshal Lenox delivered most of the writs without incident. On July 15, he was joined on his rounds byGeneral Neville, who had offered to act as his guide in Allegheny County.[51] That evening, warning shots were firedat the men at the Miller farm, about 10 mi (16 km) south of Pittsburgh. Neville returned home, while Lenox retreatedto Pittsburgh.[52]

On July 16, at least 30 Mingo Creek militiamen surrounded Neville's fortified home, Bower Hill.[53] They demandedthe surrender of the federal marshal, who they believed to be inside. Neville responded by firing a gunshot thatmortally wounded Oliver Miller, one of the "rebels".[54] The rebels opened fire, but were unable to dislodge Neville.The rebels retreated to nearby Couch's Fort to gather reinforcements.The next day, July 17, the rebels returned to Bower Hill. Their force had swelled to nearly 600 men, nowcommanded by Major James McFarlane, a veteran of the Revolutionary War.[55] Neville had also receivedreinforcements: 10 U.S. Army soldiers from Pittsburgh under the command of Major Abraham Kirkpatrick, abrother-in-law of Neville's wife.[56] Before the rebel force arrived, Kirkpatrick had Neville leave the house and hidein a nearby ravine. David Lenox and General Neville's son, Presley Neville, also returned to the area, though theycould not get into the house and were captured by the rebels.[57]

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Following some fruitless negotiations, the women and children were allowed to leave the house, and then both sidesbegan firing. After about an hour, McFarlane called a cease fire; according to some, a white flag had been waved inthe house. As McFarlane stepped into the open, a shot rang out from the house, and he fell, mortally wounded. Theenraged rebels then set fire to the house, and Kirkpatrick surrendered.[58] The number of casualties at Bower Hill isunclear; McFarlane and one or two other militiamen were killed; one U.S. soldier may have died from woundsreceived in the fight.[59] The rebels sent the U.S. soldiers away. Kirkpatrick, Lenox, and Presley Neville were kept asprisoners, but they later escaped.[60]

March on PittsburghMcFarlane was given a hero's funeral on July 18. His "murder", as the rebels saw it, further radicalized thecountryside.[61] Moderates like Brackenridge were hard pressed to restrain the populace. Radical leaders such asDavid Bradford emerged, urging violent resistance. On July 26, a group headed by Bradford robbed the U.S. mail asit left Pittsburgh, hoping to discover who in that town opposed them. Finding several letters that condemned therebels, Bradford and his band called for a military assembly to meet at Braddock's Field, about 8 mi (13 km) east ofPittsburgh.[62]

Portrait of Hugh Henry Brackenridge, a westernopponent of the whiskey tax who tried to prevent

violent resistance

On August 1, about 7,000 people gathered at Braddock's Field.[63] Thiswould prove to be the largest gathering of protesters.[64] The crowdconsisted primarily of poor people who owned no land. Most did notown whiskey stills. The furor over the whiskey excise had unleashedanger about other economic grievances. By this time, the victims ofviolence were often wealthy property owners who had no connectionto the whiskey tax.[65] Some of the most radical protesters wanted tomarch on Pittsburgh, which they called "Sodom", loot the homes of thewealthy, and then burn the town to the ground.[66] Others wanted toattack Fort Fayette. There was praise for the French Revolution, and ofbringing the guillotine to America. David Bradford, it was said, wascomparing himself to Robespierre, a leader of the French Reign ofTerror.[67]

At Braddock's Field, there was talk of declaring independence from theUnited States, and of joining with Spain or Great Britain. Radicals flewa specially designed flag that proclaimed their independence. The flaghad six stripes, one for each county represented at the gathering: five

Pennsylvania counties (Allegheny, Bedford, Fayette, Washington, and Westmoreland) and one Virginia county(Ohio County).[68]

Pittsburgh citizens helped diffuse the threat by banishing three men whose intercepted letters had given offense tothe rebels, and by sending a delegation to Braddock's Field that expressed support for the gathering.[69] Brackenridgeprevailed upon the crowd to limit the protest to a defiant march through the town. In Pittsburgh, only the barns ofMajor Kirkpatrick were torched.[70]

On August 14, a convention of delegates from the six counties was held at Parkinson's Ferry. The conventionadopted resolutions, which were drafted by Brackenridge, Gallatin, David Bradford, and an eccentric preachernamed Herman Husband, a delegate from Bedford County. Husband, a well-known local figure, was a radicalchampion of democracy who had taken part in the Regulator movement in North Carolina 25 years earlier.[71] TheParkinson's Ferry convention also appointed a committee to meet with the peace commissioners who had been sentwest by President Washington.[72]

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Federal responsePresident Washington, confronted with what appeared to be an armed insurrection in western Pennsylvania,proceeded cautiously. Although determined to maintain government authority, he did not want to alienate publicopinion. He asked his cabinet for written opinions about how to deal with the crisis. The cabinet recommended theuse of force, except for Secretary of State Edmund Randolph, who urged reconciliation.[73] Washington did both: hesent commissioners to meet with the rebels while raising a militia army. Washington privately doubted that thecommissioners could accomplish anything, and that a military expedition would be needed to suppress furtherviolence.[74] For this reason, historians have sometimes charged that the peace commission was sent only for thesake of appearances, and that the use of force was never in doubt.[75] Historians Stanley Elkins and Eric McKitrickargued that the military expedition was "itself a part of the reconciliation process", since a show of overwhelmingforce would make further violence less likely.[76]

Meanwhile, Hamilton began publishing essays under the name of "Tully" in Philadelphia newspapers, denouncingmob violence in western Pennsylvania and advocating military action. Washington and Hamilton believed thatDemocratic-Republican Societies, which had been formed throughout the country, were the source of civic unrest."Historians are not yet agreed on the exact role of the societies" in the Whiskey Rebellion, wrote historian MarkSpencer in 2003, "but there was a degree of overlap between society membership and the Whiskey Rebels".[77]

Before troops could be raised, the Militia Act of 1792 required that a justice of the United States Supreme Courtcertify that law enforcement was beyond the control of local authorities. On August 4, 1794, Justice James Wilsondelivered his opinion that western Pennsylvania was in a state of rebellion.[78] On August 7, Washington issued apresidential proclamation announcing, with "the deepest regret", that the militia would be called out to suppress therebellion. He commanded insurgents in western Pennsylvania to disperse by September 1.[79]

Negotiations

In early August 1794, Washington dispatched three commissioners, all of them Pennsylvanians, to the west:Attorney General William Bradford, Justice Jasper Yeates of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and Senator JamesRoss. Beginning on August 21, the commissioners met with a committee of westerners that included Brackenridgeand Gallatin. The government commissioners told the committee that it must unanimously agree to renounceviolence and submit to U.S. laws, and that a popular referendum must be held to determine if the local peoplesupported the decision. Those who agreed to these terms would be given amnesty from further prosecution.[80]

The committee, divided between radicals and moderates, narrowly passed a resolution agreeing to submit to thegovernment's terms. The popular referendum, which was held on September 11, also produced mixed results. Sometownships overwhelmingly supported submitting to U.S. law, but opposition to the government remained strong inareas where poor and landless people predominated.[81] The final report of the commissioners recommended the useof the military to enforce the laws.[82] The trend was towards submission, however, and westerners dispatched tworepresentatives, William Findley and David Redick, to meet with Washington and halt the progress of the oncomingarmy. Washington and Hamilton declined, arguing that violence would likely reemerge if the army turned back.[81]

Militia expedition

Militia was called up from New Jersey, Maryland, Virginia, and eastern Pennsylvania. The federalized militia forceof 12,950 men was a large army by American standards of the time: the army that had been with Washington duringthe Revolutionary War had often been smaller.[83] Because relatively few men volunteered for militia service, a draftwas used to fill out the ranks.[84] Draft evasion was widespread, and conscription efforts resulted in protests andriots, even in eastern areas. Three counties in eastern Virginia were the scenes of armed draft resistance.[85] InMaryland, Governor Thomas Sim Lee sent 800 men to quash an anti-draft riot in Hagerstown; about 150 peoplewere arrested.[86]

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Governor Henry Lee of Virginia commanded thefederalized militia army.

Liberty poles were raised in various places as the militia was recruited,worrying federal officials. A liberty pole was raised in Carlisle,Pennsylvania, on September 11.[87] When the federalized militiaarrived in that town later that month, suspected pole-raisers wererounded up. Two civilians were killed in these operations. OnSeptember 29, an unarmed boy was shot by an officer whose pistolaccidentally fired. Two days later, a man was stabbed to death by asoldier while resisting arrest. President Washington ordered the arrestof the two soldiers and had them turned over to civilian authorities. Astate judge determined that the deaths had been accidental, and thesoldiers were released.[88]

In October, Washington traveled west to review the progress of themilitary expedition. According to historian Joseph Ellis, this would be"the first and only time a sitting American president led troops in thefield".[89] Washington met with the western representatives in Bedford,Pennsylvania, on October 9 before going to Fort Cumberland in Maryland to review the southern wing of thearmy.[90] Convinced that the federalized militia would meet little resistance, he placed the army under the commandof the governor of Virginia, Henry "Lighthorse Harry" Lee, a hero of the Revolutionary War. Washington returned toPhiladelphia; Hamilton remained with the army as civilian adviser.[91]

The insurrection collapsed as the army marched into western Pennsylvania in October 1794. Some of the mostprominent leaders of the insurrection, like David Bradford, fled westward to safety. After an investigation, federalgovernment officials arrested about twenty people and brought them back to Philadelphia for trial.[92] Eventually, afederal grand jury indicted twenty-four men for high treason.[93] Most of the accused had eluded capture, and so onlyten men stood trial for treason in federal court.[94] Of these, only Philip Vigol (also spelled Wigle or Weigle) andJohn Mitchell were convicted. Vigol had beaten up a tax collector and burned his house; Mitchell was a simpletonwho had been convinced by David Bradford to rob the U.S. mail. Both men were sentenced to death by hanging, butthey were pardoned by President Washington.[95] Pennsylvania state courts were more successful in prosecutinglawbreakers, securing numerous convictions for assault and rioting.[96]

LegacyThe Washington administration's suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion met with widespread popular approval.[97]

The episode demonstrated that the new national government had the willingness and ability to suppress violentresistance to its laws. It was therefore viewed by the Washington administration as a success, a view that hasgenerally been endorsed by historians.[98] The Washington administration and its supporters usually did not mention,however, that the whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, and that many westerners continued to refuse to paythe tax.[26] The events contributed to the formation of political parties in the Un.S., a process already underway.[99]

The whiskey tax was repealed after Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party, which opposed Hamilton's FederalistParty, came to power in 1800.[100]

The Whiskey Rebellion raised the question of what kinds of protests were permissible under the new Constitution.Legal historian Christian G. Fritz argued that, even after ratification of the Constitution, there was not yet aconsensus about sovereignty in the U.S. Federalists believed that the government was sovereign because it had beenestablished by the people, and so radical protest actions, which were permissible during the American Revolution,were no longer legitimate. But the Whiskey Rebels and their defenders believed that the Revolution had establishedthe people as a "collective sovereign", and so the people had the collective right to change or challenge thegovernment through extra-constitutional means.[101]

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Historian Steven Boyd argued that the suppression of the Whiskey Rebellion prompted anti-Federalist westerners tofinally accept the Constitution, and to seek change by voting for Republicans rather than resisting the government.Federalists, for their part, came to accept that the people could play a greater role in governance. AlthoughFederalists would attempt to restrict speech critical of the government with the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798, afterthe Whiskey Rebellion, says Boyd, Federalists no longer challenged the freedom of assembly and the right topetition.[102]

Soon after the Whiskey Rebellion, actress-playwright Susanna Rowson wrote a stage musical about the insurrectionentitled The Volunteers, with music by composer Alexander Reinagle. The play is now lost, but the songs survive,and suggest that Rowson's interpretation was pro-Federalist. The musical celebrated the militiamen who put downthe rebellion, the "volunteers" of the title, as American heroes.[103] President Washington and Martha Washingtonattended a performance of the play in Philadelphia in January 1795.[104]

In L. Neil Smith's alternate history novel The Probability Broach (1980), Albert Gallatin convinces the militia not toput down the rebellion, but instead to march on the nation's capital, execute George Washington for treason, andreplace the Constitution with a revised Articles of Confederation. As a result, the United States becomes a libertarianutopia called the North American Confederacy.[105] [106]

References

Notes[1] Chernow, 297.[2] Chernow, 327–30.[3] Chernow, 341.[4] Hogeland, 27.[5] Chernow, 342–43; Hogeland, 63.[6] Slaughter, 100.[7] Slaughter, 105; Hogeland, 64.[8] Slaughter, 97.[9] Hogeland, 66.[10] Hogeland, 68.[11] Hogeland, 67; Holt, 30.[12] Slaughter, 147–49; Hogeland, 68–70.[13] Hogeland, 68–69; Holt, 30.[14] Slaughter, 148.[15] Slaughter, 148; Hogeland, 69.[16] Slaughter, 108.[17] Slaughter, 110.[18] Slaughter, 206.[19] Hogeland, 23–25; Slaughter, 113.[20] Hogeland, 24.[21] Hogeland, 114–15.[22] Slaughter, 113. Hogeland dates the attack on Johnson to September 7, the night before the Pittsburgh convention; Hogeland, 24.[23] Hogeland, 103–04.[24] Slaughter, 114.[25] Slaughter, 103.[26] Mary K. Bonsteel Tachau, "A New Look at the Whiskey Rebellion", in Boyd, The Whiskey Rebellion: Past and Present Perspectives,

97–118.[27] Slaughter, 117.[28] Slaughter, 119; Hogeland, 124.[29] Hogeland, 122–23.[30] Hogeland, 117–19; 122–23.[31] Slaughter, 125–27.[32] Slaughter, 119–23.[33] Slaughter, 151–53.

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[34] Hogeland, 97, 102.[35] Hogeland, 119–24.[36] Hogeland, 130–31.[37] Slaughter, 151.[38] Slaughter, 150.[39] Slaughter, 153.[40] Slaughter, 165.[41] Slaughter, 177; Cooke, 328.[42] Hogeland, 142.[43] Slaughter, 170.[44] Slaughter, 182.[45] Cooke, 321.[46] Cooke, 321–22.[47] Slaughter, 183.[48] Hogeland, 124.[49] Hogeland, passim. For an online summary of Hogeland's argument, see his "Why the Whiskey Rebellion Is Worth Recalling Now" (http:/ /

hnn. us/ articles/ 27341. html); History News Network, July 3, 2006. Accessed June 22, 2010.[50] Samuel E. Morison, The Oxford History of the United States 1783–1917 (London: Oxford University Press, 1927), 182.[51] Slaughter, 177.[52] Hogeland, 146.[53] The number of militiamen in the first attack on Bower Hill varies in contemporary accounts; Hogeland, 268.[54] Slaughter, 179; Hogeland, 147–48.[55] Hogeland, 150–51.[56] Slaughter, 179; Hogeland, 152.[57] Hogeland, 153.[58] Hogeland, 153–54; Slaughter, 179–80.[59] Slaughter, 180.[60] Hogeland, 155–56.[61] Slaughter, 181–83.[62] Slaughter, 183–85.[63] Slaughter, 186; Hogeland, 172.[64] Slaughter, 188.[65] Slaughter, 186–87.[66] Slaughter, 187.[67] Slaughter, 188–89; Hogeland, 169.[68] Holt, 10. Holt writes that earlier historians had misindentified the six counties represented by the flag.[69] Slaughter, 185.[70] Slaughter, 187–88; Hogeland, 170–77.[71] Holt, 54–57.[72] Slaughter, 188–89.[73] Elkins & McKitrick, 479.[74] Slaughter, 197–99.[75] Slaughter, 199; Holt, 11.[76] Elkins & McKitrick, 481.[77] Mark G. Spencer, "Democratic-Republican Societies", in Peter Knight, ed., Conspiracy Theories in American History (Santa Barbara, CA:

ABC-CLIO Press, 2003), 1:221.[78] Slaughter, 192–93, 196; Elkins & McKitrick, 479.[79] Slaughter, 196.[80] Slaughter, 199–200; Hogeland, 199.[81] Slaughter, 203.[82] Hogeland, 205–06.[83] Chernow, 475–76; Hogeland, 189.[84] Slaughter, 213.[85] Slaughter, 213–14.[86] Slaughter, 210.[87] Slaughter, 208.[88] Slaughter, 205–06; Hogeland, 213.[89] Ellis, His Excellency, George Washington, 225.[90] Slaughter, 215–16.

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[91] Slaughter, 216.[92] Slaughter, 219.[93] Richard A. Ifft, "Treason in the Early Republic: The Federal Courts, Popular Protest, and Federalism During the Whiskey Insurrection", in

Boyd, The Whiskey Rebellion: Past and Present Perspectives, 172.[94] Ifft, 172.[95] Hogeland, 238; Ifft, 176.[96] Ifft, 175–76.[97] Elkins & McKitrick, 481–84.[98] Boyd, "Popular Rights", 78.[99] Slaughter, 221; Boyd, "Popular Rights", 80.[100] Hogeland, 242.[101] Christian G. Fritz, American Sovereigns: the People and America’s Constitutional Tradition Before the Civil War, ch. 6.[102] Boyd, "Popular Rights", 80–83.[103] Anita Vickers, The New Nation (Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood, 2002), 213.[104] Susan Branson, These Fiery Frenchified Dames: Women and Political Culture in Early National Philadelphia (Philadelphia: University of

Pennsylvania Press, 2001), 181.[105] John J. Pierce, When world views collide: a study in imagination and evolution (Greenwood Press, 1989), 163.[106] Peter Josef Mühlbauer, "Frontiers and dystopias: Libertarian ideology in science fiction", in Dieter Plehwe et al., eds., Neoliberal

Hegemony: A Global Critique (Taylor & Francis, 2006), 162.

Works frequently cited• Boyd, Steven R., ed. The Whiskey Rebellion: Past and Present Perspectives. Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood

Press, 1985. ISBN 0313245347.• Boyd, Steven R. "The Whiskey Rebellion, Popular Rights, and the Meaning of the First Amendment." In W.

Thomas Mainwaring, ed. The Whiskey Rebellion and the Trans-Appalachian Frontier, 73–84. Washington,Pennsylvania: Washington and Jefferson College, 1994.

• Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. New York: Penguin Press, 2004. ISBN 1594200092.• Cooke, Jacob E. "The Whiskey Insurrection: A Re-Evaluation." Pennsylvania History 30 (July 1963), 316–64.• Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric L. McKitrick. The Age of Federalism. Oxford University Press, 1995. ISBN

9780195093810• Hogeland, William. The Whiskey Rebellion: George Washington, Alexander Hamilton, and the Frontier Rebels

Who Challenged America's Newfound Sovereignty. New York: Scribner, 2006. ISBN 0743254902.• Holt, Wythe. "The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794: A Democratic Working-Class Insurrection" (http:/ / www. uga.

edu/ colonialseminar/ whiskeyrebellion-6. pdf). Paper presented at The Georgia Workshop in Early AmericanHistory and Culture (http:/ / www. uga. edu/ colonialseminar/ ), 2004.

• Kohn, Richard H. "The Washington Administration's Decision to Crush the Whiskey Rebellion." Journal ofAmerican History 59 (December 1972), 567–84.

• Slaughter, Thomas P. The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution. Oxford UniversityPress, 1986. ISBN 0-19-505191-2.

Further reading• Baldwin, Leland. Whiskey Rebels: The Story of a Frontier Uprising. Pittsburgh: University of Pittsburgh Press,

1939.• Bouton, Terry. Taming Democracy: "The People," the Founders, and the Troubled Ending of the American

Revolution. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. ISBN 9780195306651.• Brackenridge, Henry Marie. History of the Western Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania.... (http:/ / books.

google. com/ books?id=PycYAAAAYAAJ& dq=brackenridge+ whiskey& source=gbs_navlinks_s) Pittsburgh,1859.

• Brackenridge, Hugh Henry. Incidents of the Insurrection in Western Pennsylvania in the Year 1794. Philadelphia,1795. A 1972 edition has notes by Daniel Marder.

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Whiskey Rebellion 11

• Findley, William. History of the Insurrection in the Four Western Counties of Pennsylvania (http:/ / books.google. com/ books?id=RXsFAAAAQAAJ& dq=William+ Findley,+ History+ of+ the+ Insurrection& lr=&source=gbs_navlinks_s). Philadelphia, 1796.

External links• Text of the 1791 excise act (http:/ / memory. loc. gov/ cgi-bin/ ampage?collId=llsl& fileName=001/ llsl001. db&

recNum=322) from the Library of Congress• George Washington's Proclamation of September 15, 1792 (http:/ / avalon. law. yale. edu/ 18th_century/

gwproc08. asp), warning against obstruction of the excise law, from the Avalon Project at Yale Law School• Washington's Proclamation of August 7, 1794 (http:/ / avalon. law. yale. edu/ 18th_century/ gwproc03. asp),

announcing the preliminary raising of militia and commanding the insurgents in western Pennsylvania to disperse• Washington's Proclamation of September 25, 1794 (http:/ / avalon. law. yale. edu/ 18th_century/ gwproc10. asp),

announcing the commencement of military operations• Washington's Sixth Annual Message (http:/ / avalon. law. yale. edu/ 18th_century/ washs06. asp), November 19,

1794. Washington dedicated most of this annual message to the Whiskey Rebellion.

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Article Sources and Contributors 12

Article Sources and ContributorsWhiskey Rebellion  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=421167428  Contributors: (jarbarf), 2sense, AdRem, Aeconley, Agricolae, Agriff1, Air.light, Ajsherwood, Akatie,Alansohn, Ale jrb, Alfredo Molina, Allandray, Anaxial, Andonic, Antandrus, Ante Aikio, Apparition11, Arakunem, Archanamiya, Auric, Auror, B. Wolterding, Baiji, BarrelProof, BarretBonden,Bass fishing physicist, Battlecruiser, Bcorr, Beep54, Bender235, BiggKwell, Bkinnett3, Blanchardb, BlastOButter42, Bloodybunny423, Blue-Haired Lawyer, Bob Burkhardt, Bobo192, Bondjel,Boothy443, BorgHunter, Bpeikes, Brendanconway, Bryan Derksen, Bsadowski1, Bucketsofg, CIreland, CO, CPColin, Caltas, Calum MacÙisdean, CambridgeBayWeather, Camw, Can't sleep,clown will eat me, Capricorn42, Carpebob, ChrisGriswold, Christian Historybuff, CiTrusD, Ciaccona, Civil Engineer III, Cloud20390, Comatose51, Common Good, Cooldood705, CopperKettle,Crazycomputers, Crazysane, Cwolfsheep, DARTH SIDIOUS 2, DLJessup, DVD R W, DanKeshet, DancingPenguin, Danski14, Dantheman531, Darth Panda, David Justin, Davidporter1793,Deanos, Deor, Derek Ross, Dfrg.msc, Diannaa, Dimadick, Dina, Discospinster, DivineAlpha, Dreadstar, Dthomsen8, Duncan, Dvegoren, Eal, Eddygordo, ElTyrant, Elemesh, Elipso20,Emmelephant, Epbr123, Escape Orbit, Evercat, Excirial, FCYTravis, FJPB, Ferball415, Fifo, Finalnight, Fireplace, Flamma, Flauto Dolce, Freemarket, Frosted14, GDrocks939, Gazpacho, GoodOlfactory, GrapedApe, Gregbard, Guitarmankev1, Gurch, Gustavb, Gwernol, Gwyncann, Gökhan, Hadal, HalJor, Hall Monitor, HappyInGeneral, Happysailor, Harland1, Harmony Husband,Haysyd, Henrikhenrik, Henrygb, Hephaestos, HexaChord, Hholt01, Hmains, Hmrox, Hodge1974, Hrhamm, Htra0497, Huangdi, Hugo999, Hydrogen Iodide, I dream of horses, IRP,Ignoranteconomist, IndulgentReader, Inferno, Lord of Penguins, Injuredworm, Iownahorse, Ixfd64, J.delanoy, JDDJS, JForget, Jac16888, Jamin2124, Janeky, Janus Shadowsong, Jaraalbe,Jawdizzle5, Jclemens, Jdodonnell, Jdorney, Jengod, Jerzy, Jfrenkiewich, Jobes23, Johnbax, Jon Jonasson, Jovianeye, Juliancolton, Kablammo, Kaisershatner, Katalaveno, Kateshortforbob,Keegan, Keegscee, Kevin Myers, Khukri, Killiondude, KingAlanI, Kirrages, Kissekatt, KnowledgeOfSelf, Kraken137, Kukini, Kuralyov, LFaraone, Lbr123, LeaveSleaves, Lee Grant, LeonardDickens, Leonard^Bloom, Levineps, Lightmouse, Little Mountain 5, Lmlaitala, LorenzoB, MFago, Madmagic, Magus732, Majorly, Marek69, Markles, Martin451, Mastamonk3, Mattfiller,Maury Markowitz, Mav, Metzby, Michaeldsuarez, Michaelkourlas, Midnightdreary, Mifter, Mikaey, Mike HF, Mike Rosoft, MinutiaeMan, Mishap85, Misterx2000, Mjpieters, Mmoneypenny,Moomoomoo, Moorlock, Morning277, Moush, MrApples, MrParm, MusicTree3, Mygerardromance, Mytildebang, N419BH, Namangwari, Nandesuka, Natalie Erin, NativeForeigner, Navy Steel,NekoDaemon, Netesq, Nkayesmith, North Shoreman, Nothingofwater, Nowax, Nwbeeson, Nyttend, OllieFury, One Night In Hackney, Oneiros, Orangutan, Orphan Wiki, OwenX, Oxymoron83,Pan Dan, Patcat88, Paul August, Paxsimius, Persian Poet Gal, Philip Taron, Philip Trueman, Pianojosh, Piledhigheranddeeper, Pinethicket, Poeloq, Pohick2, Possum, Pustelnik, QueenCake,R'n'B, RJaguar3, Raafael, Radgeek, Rainz gurl, Rdfuerle, Regibox, RepublicanJacobite, Rettetast, ReverendG, Rich Farmbrough, Rich333, Richmolo, Rjensen, Rjwilmsi, Rklisowski,Rmosler2100, Ro4444, Robert K S, RobertG, Romddal, Rory096, Rrburke, Rror, Rseads, Rsrikanth05, Rtrac3y, Rudowsky, Russophile2, RxS, Ryuhaku, SJP, Safiel, Salvio giuliano, Sango123,Sannse, Scarian, Schadenfreude52, Scott Illini, Sdprodigy, Seaphoto, Searcher 1990, Seba5618, Seveikath, ShedPlant, Sintaku, Smallbones, Snigbrook, Snowolf, So Pro Lah, Sonlee,SouthRunner, Sp, Spiesr, Stevertigo, Stonewhite, Sungame, Tarmstro99, Tassedethe, Tedickey, Tempshill, Terrakyte, The Thing That Should Not Be, TheKMan, Theresa knott, Thesloth,Theycallmemellowyellow5, Thingg, Tide rolls, Timma258, Timmansfield, Timsnyder93, Tiptoety, Tommy2010, Toveling, Trevor MacInnis, Trevor123160, Triona, Truthkeeper88,Tuscapedeath, Urban, Useight, Uthoria, Versus22, Vgranucci, Voyagerfan5761, WadeSimMiser, Warpflyght, Wayward, Wdflake, WegianWarrior, Wetman, Where, WhiskyWhiskers, WhiteShadows, Wikipelli, William Avery, Wingsandsword, World, X201, Xihr, Yaf, Ybbor, Young Trigg, Zach1227, Zekeo, 1066 anonymous edits

Image Sources, Licenses and ContributorsFile:Alexander Hamilton.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Alexander_Hamilton.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Durova, Klemen Kocjancic, Neutrality,Nonenmac, RobertLechner, Superm401, Wars, 2 anonymous editsFile:Whiskey Insurrection.JPG  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Whiskey_Insurrection.JPG  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Illustrator unknown to uploaderFile:William Findley.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:William_Findley.jpg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: Painting by Rembrandt Peale (1778 – 1860)File:Brackenridge.jpg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:Brackenridge.jpg  License: unknown  Contributors: CrazypacoFile:HenryLee.jpeg  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=File:HenryLee.jpeg  License: Public Domain  Contributors: William Edward West (1788-1857)

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