The Whiskey Rebellion

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The words whiskey and rebellion both have the ability to entice a gambit of emotions, and in 1794 they did. Like most great uprisings the Whiskey Rebellion was preceded by the rich exploiting or taxing those who were already taxed out. Our country is infamous for its rebellion against taxes; one could argue that rebelling against a ruling class is the core foundation of our great country’s history and make-up. My goal is to explore why this rebellion deserves the place in history that it hold, whether it was successful or not, but most importantly what did our nation’s leaders learn from this event?
Before I divulge into the really interesting things I want to establish some vital and basic facts about this event. In 1794 the backcountry community of Mingo Creek, Pennsylvania would erupt into violence and resistance to tax collectors. Four years prior to this there was a tax placed on all whiskey stills, which negatively affected farmers in that area. Since most farmers depended on the profit from there stills, being able to move the product was vital to their income, and having a tax that imposed on that greatly hindered this operation. Ultimately this tax would make life harder for most farm families’ conditions in Mingo Creek were already rough, but burdening the already down trot masses with a tax on one of its most viable means of income was a less than popular idea. Like most rebellions or uprisings there is a leader of both the oppressed and the oppressor. In our case the oppressors were two of our most revered Founding Fathers: Pres. George Washington and the then Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton. In order to support campaigns targeted towards defeating hostile Indians in the western territories Hamilton recomme...

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...fersonian Republican Party, they were the opposition throughout this episode. Opposition or not the Washington administration got results. National authority had been asserted and ratified by the nation’s people. State governments after this point would be more accepting and willing to enforce federal laws. This is a vital feature of our government today, to surrender individuality for the greater good of the nation is what the states that made up our country had to learn to do. With this rebellion brought the opportunity for them to do so, we would now be united by more than our independence but also by the need to maintain a civilized and strong government. By doing so the nation would also insure its newly attained independence. We would not be conquered during a time of inner anxiety nor would we surrender ourselves in doubt of our own government’s capability.

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