The Whiskey Rebellion Essay

The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War in the United States, was the prosperous military revolt against Great Britain of Thirteen American Colonies which joined together as the United States of America in July 1776. Originally constrained to fighting in those colonies, after 1778 it additionally became a world war between Britain and France, Netherlands, Spain, and Mysore.

The years of 1763-1765 were truly defining moments for colonist of the colonies, soon to become the United States of America. ‘’War! War! This is the only way!” American Colonist shouted,as they took to the streets proclaiming defiance of British rule. “We as a people shall fight for our freedom and have victory.No more shall we continue to let others control our countries and give our money to a monarch who has no concern for our right’s, dedication that was put forth to help fight and respect us as loyal subjects.We must fight for our freedom!” When American colonist waged war it proved to be the only way for the colonies to become free from Britian. In turn, the colonist were justified in breaking away from England because of: The

Towards the end of the 16th century, the United States government experienced continuous changes in laws(taxes) and several problems(battling and removal of Indians) associated with westward expansion. Conflict was created in response to the rising taxes issued by the government on goods such as whiskey. Most affected by the heavy taxation were the creators and distributors of whiskey - the average poor white farmer. An incident that occurred in 1794 involving enraged farmers in western Pennsylvania, threatened the tax collectors lives as well as the authority of the government. This incident came to be known as the Whiskey Rebellion.

The Texas Revolution was a key point in our nation’s history and in the history of the state of Texas. For, if Texas had not revolted the way that they did, it would probably not have become a state. There are many causes that are speculated on why Texas revolted whether they are political disputes against the Centralist party in Mexico that had primary control at the time of the Revolution. These and more will be explored. Also, there are key battles in the Texas Revolution that decided the final fate of Texas, none more famous than the famous Battle of San Jacinto and The Alamo.

The action by the rebels in Shay’s Rebellion of stopping the judges from going into court was against law. The soldiers in the militia didn’t follow the law. The whole rebellion was against the law too. Eventually, the rebels in the Shay’s Rebellion were defeated. This was a warning for the people, reminding them do not have the thought of rebelling, or you will get defeated and maybe sentenced to death. During the Whiskey Rebellion, the farmers were angry about the whiskey tax policy, so they rebelled. Washington reacted by sending a trop of 13000 men to Pennsylvania and crashing down the revolt. It gave a warning to the people, that they should follow the law, but not ignored it or resisted against it. If they don’t, they would need to face the consequences of their action, such as a gigantic trop of 13000

There were many rebellions in the United States history, some peaceful and some violent. Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794 are examples of two brutal rebellions that led to death of many innocent people. Rebellions can develop due to many conditions including unfair laws, unfair treatment, and a disagreement over a sensitive topic. The Shays' Rebellion showed the Articles of Confederation was too weak, while the Whiskey Rebellion proved the Constitution to be a strong framework of government.

The rebellions of Upper and Lower Canada were in the interests of self-government but were doomed to failure from their beginning. Each of these two colonies encountered a great deal of problems right from the institution of the Constitution Act of 1791 and the problems continually got worse until the only choice to some seem to be rebellion. There were several problems that lead to the rebellions of 1837-38. In Lower Canada there was the agricultural crisis that caused a large number of starvations, to the French and English political and social problems within the colony. There were several different reasons that caused the rebellion in Upper Canada but these caused were mainly rooted in

In 1791, under the advisement of Alexander Hamilton, congress passed the whiskey tax. This tax, put a twenty-five percent tax on whiskey. Hamilton created this tax in hopes of the federal government gaining more money to help pay of the nation’s debt. However, in doing so, this angered many people, especially farmers in western Pennsylvania, because they distilled the extra grain they had to make whiskey and sell it to make extra income. These small operations in western Pennsylvania rebelled by erecting liberty poles and taring and feathering tax collectors. George Washington, who was president during this time, saw the outburst and decided to take action against the angered farmers. Washington gathered about 13,000 men from the militia to put an end to this rebellion. In doing so, Washington showed that the government help the power over the citizens. In The Whiskey Rebellion, by Thomas Slaughter, he describes different consequences that arise from the whiskey tax. Slaughter presents three main points, which include conflicts between the east and west, two political systems that begin to develop, and the actual rebellion.

     The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 helped bring about the demise of the aristocratic Federalist Government in favor of the democratic Republican Government, concerned with the needs of all of its citizens.

These acts then led to the long string of others given out by King. In 1765, Parliament passed the Quartering Act, which required colonists to provide barracks and supplies to British soldier and also the Stamp Act that required stamps to be placed on paper products such as playing cards, pamphlets, almanacs, and newspapers. Unlike the acts before it, the Stamp Act was a direct tax on the colonies and made many believe "the passage of it was not merely an impolitic and unjust law that threatened the priceless right of the individual to retain possession of his property until he or his chosen representative voluntarily gave it up to another; it was to many, also, a danger signal indicating that a more general threat existed" [3]

“I hold it, that a little rebellion, now and then, is a good thing” (Jefferson). Thomas Jefferson wrote these words in a letter to James Madison after hearing about Shay’s Rebellion while he was a foreign diplomat in Paris. After the rebellion happened, the “Shaysites” as they were called, were labeled as traitors to their country and the democratic form of government. But were they really? Many of the men fighting in the rebellion felt that they were being oppressed just as they had been under British rule.

Imagine being an active participant in the American Revolution in the late 1700s. Not only that, imagine being on the side fighting for your freedom. The war ends, you're in the clear for a leisurely life of freely doing what you please, and you're happy. You're also a farmer that happens to be located in Pennsylvania. Before you know it, Congress comes to the decision to pass a tax on the production and distribution of whiskey, one of your main crops. What? Woah, woah, woah, wait a minute, did you not just fight a whole war against the taxes being imposed on you? A war for your rights? This can't be right, it just cannot be. Ah, but it is all too true. In the 1790s, a tax was passed that raised the price on distributing whiskey. This

The Whiskey Excise Tax hit rural farmers especially hard, and they started crying foul almost immediately after passage. It was criticized for being an “unreasonable economic hardship and as an ominous intrusion by central authorities into local affairs” (Gould, 1996, 405). These “westerners” felt as if they were being unjustly victimized by this tax. Most farmers during this period in American history worked extremely hard just to make ends meet, so operating a whiskey distillery offered them a source of extra income. In the minds of these western farmers this tax left them at a competitive disadvantage with eastern farmers. Western small-time farmers generally had small whiskey distillers. These frontier distillers could not run as efficiently as the larger distillers in the east, so their tax burden was much greater. For this reason many of the western farmers felt that Secretary Hamilton had set up a system that was giving tax-breaks to the larger eastern-based distillers. This sentiment is often echoed in today’s world- that the federal government promotes “big business” (Holt, 2004, 30). The cause of much of this rile and frustration, however, stems from the age-old

Life for was harsh and arduous following up towards gaining freedom and after becoming a liberated for many African Americans during the 19th century. But soon after the political,social,and economic effects of slaves getting their freedoms back many bills or propositions were made to oppose the reform movement.

“Is there a single trait of resemblance between those few towns and a great and growing people spread over a vast quarter of the globe, separated by a mighty ocean?” This question posed by Edmund Burke was in the hearts of nearly every colonist before the colonies gained their independence from Britain. The colonists’ heritage was largely British, as was their outlook on a great array of subjects; however, the position and prejudices they held concerning their independence were comprised entirely from American ingenuity. This identity crisis of these “British Americans” played an enormous role in the colonists’ battle for independence, and paved the road to revolution.