Federalists believed that the government was sovereign because it had been established by the people; radical protest actions were permissible during the American Revolution but were no longer legitimate, in their thinking. Until these issues were addressed, westerners felt that the government was ignoring their security and economic welfare. In July 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion broke out as farmers declared their defiance of the law and rioted against tax officials, burning buildings and even calling for secession from the United States. [4] Numerous examples of resistance are recorded in court documents and newspaper accounts. SHAYS'S AND WHISKEY REBELLIONSTwo short-lived armed uprisings, Shays's Rebellion and the Whiskey Rebellion, took place just before and shortly after the creation of the federal Constitution. [75], On August 1, about 7,000 people gathered at Braddock's Field. The rebels who wound up being arrested ultimately escaped punishment. It began with the excised tax of Whiskey in 1791. 0. [17] Farmers living west of the Appalachian Mountains distilled their excess grain into whiskey, which was easier and more profitable to transport over the mountains than the more cumbersome grain. [67], The next day, the rebels returned to Bower Hill. He did not want to alienate public opinion, so he asked his cabinet for written opinions about how to deal with the crisis. [51], The resistance came to a climax in 1794. [87] For this reason, historians have sometimes charged that the peace commission was sent only for the sake of appearances, and that the use of force was never in doubt. [9] He therefore promoted passage of an excise tax on domestically produced distilled spirits. In May of that year, federal district attorney William Rawle issued subpoenas for more than 60 distillers in Pennsylvania who had not paid the excise tax. [31] A man sent by officials to serve court warrants to Johnson's attackers was whipped, tarred, and feathered. The militia men scoured the countryside and captured a … Kohn, Richard H. "The Washington Administration's Decision to Crush the Whiskey Rebellion. Peter Josef Mühlbauer, "Frontiers and dystopias: Libertarian ideology in science fiction", in Dieter Plehwe et al., eds., Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation Company, The Latimers: A Tale of the Western Insurrection of 1794, List of incidents of civil unrest in the United States, "ExplorePAHistory.com – Stories from PA History", "Why the Whiskey Rebellion Is Worth Recalling Now", "Whiskey Point (Albert Gallatin) Historical Marker", "Journal of Jonathan Forman (7 pgs. Most distillers in nearby Kentucky were found to be all but impossible to tax—in the next six years, over 175 distillers from Kentucky were convicted of violating the tax law. Neville returned home while Lenox retreated to Pittsburgh. By mid-November, the militia had arrested 150 rebels, including 20 prominent leaders of the insurrection. Slaughter, 221; Boyd, "Popular Rights", 80. In Maryland, Governor Thomas Sim Lee sent 800 men to quash an anti-draft riot in Hagerstown; about 150 people were arrested. American Revolutionary War veteran Daniel Shays led four … The Whiskey Rebellion was triggered by a tax imposed on distilled liquors in 1791. which farmers in western Pennsylvania believed was unfair since they made alcohols to sell. Legal historian Christian G. Fritz argued that there was not yet a consensus about sovereignty in the United States, even after ratification of the Constitution. Favorite Answer. The captured rebels were paraded down Broad Street being 'humiliated, bedraggled, [and] half-starved  ...' "[108], Other accounts describe the indictment of 24 men for high treason. [100], 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 the army. In June 1794, innkeeper John Lynn agreed to sublet part of his rented house in western Pennsylvania to John Neville. The Whiskey Rebellion trickled to a halt without much bloodshed. His "murder", as the rebels saw it, further radicalized the countryside. This tax was set forth by Alexander Hamilton in his efforts to … [47], Resistance to the excise tax continued through 1793 in the frontier counties of Appalachia. The episode exposed a deep fissure in early American society, a bitter split between financiers in … Though the Whiskey Rebellion had represented a very serious challenge to federal power, and it was remarkable as it marked the last time George Washington would lead troops, it had no real lasting effect. In W. Thomas Mainwaring, ed. 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