As in the previous war, taxes were a central issue. Students will learn about the whiskey tax that inspired the whiskey rebellion and the reasons for the passage of this tax. The whiskey rebellion took place throughout the western frontier. The whiskey rebellion was ended quickly and decisively by the federal government as opposed to the drawnout prosecution of shays rebellion in 1787 see full answer below. On august 20, 1794, an american army under general mad anthony wayne decisively defeated a confederation of native americans at the battle of fallen timbers. Probably the biggest concern about the excise tax was the revenues from it would support a national government the western people felt was not representing.
After the rebellion, we changed from the articles to the constitution to straighten the federal government. Shays rebellion was an armed uprising in western massachusetts in opposition to a debt crisis among the citizenry and the state governments increased efforts to collect taxes both on individuals and their trades. Washington and the whiskey rebellion bill of rights institute. How the whiskey rebellion changed american politics and. Whiskey rebellion, jays treaty, and the xyz affair phs. Two were convicted of treason, but washington later pardoned them. Washington and the whiskey rebellion us constitution. The eastern part was runowned by merchantslawyers who con. The lasting effects of the whiskey rebellion were enormous. It resulted in a strengthening of the recently established united states because the federal government demonstrated its ability to keep the union together. Shays rebellion happened under the articles of confederation and showed the major weakness in them. Though the various events associated with this protest took place over a period of four years between 1790 and 1794, it reached its climax in 1794, and thus, is also referred to as the whiskey rebellion of 1794.
Whiskey rebellion, 1794, in american history, uprising that afforded the new u. However, in the counties west of pennsylvania, the whiskey rebellion continued for over three years. The significant relationship between shays rebellion and. Whiskey rebellion 1794 revolt against the us government in w pennsylvania. Washington and the whiskey rebellion summary many of the founders, including george washington, believed that one weakness of the articles of confederation was that the federal government could not deal firmly with domestic uprisings such as shays rebellion. The whiskey rebellion was a response to the excise tax proposed by alexander hamilton, who was washingtons secretary of the treasury in 1791. What federal law was the focus of protests in the whiskey rebellion. The british honored it however they did things like giving natives weapons so they could attack american settlers and taking american ships that tried to help france during the french revolution how did the whiskey rebellion end differently than shays rebellion. The whiskey rebellion trail was inspired by the real events that divided a newly. Fittingly, some exact dates were forgotten whiskey was involved, after all, but this timeline will help you grasp the basics and understand its origin. President washington and alexander hamilton set out at the head of 15,000 troops to suppress the rebellion. Friendship hill was the home of albert gallatin, who represented fayette county to the state assembly created in pennsylvania during the whiskey rebellion. It was provoked by a tax on whisky, and was the first serious challenge to federal authority.
Philadelphia served as the nations capital during this period and therefore was the city in which the excise legislation was. On august 26, 1794, president george washington writes to henry light horse harry lee, virginias governor and a former general, regarding the whiskey rebellion, an insurrection that was. The whiskey rebellion friendship hill national historic. What was the whiskey rebellion and how did washington end. And alexander hamilton understood that putting down this rebellion was critical to the life of the nation. The first, named after its nominal leader, daniel shays, erupted in western massachusetts in the winter of 1786 and continued into the early months of 1787. It changed the way the government handled protesters as they started to use military suppression. How did the government respond to the whiskey rebellion. The whiskey rebellion was a riot in the history of the united states. Three ways the united states became stronger after the war of 1812. George washington finally put the rebellion down after getting an army together the. Why did president washington order the army to end the whiskey rebellion.
Neville was an excise inspector whose job it was to make sure that the federal tax on whiskey was collected from the backwoods frontiersmen. Why did the whiskey rebellion end differently than shays. How did the whiskey rebellion and shays rebellion end similarly. During the whiskey rebellion, the federal government did not have the tools to prevent a rebellion, allowing it to start in the first place. Secretary of the treasury albert gallatin, washington ordered some,000 troops into the area, but the opposition melted away and no battle ensued. They were also later pardoned in a very anticlimactic end to this story. The charges against them were serious, and they could have been hanged, but president washington chose to. By the time the militia reached pittsburgh, the rebels had dispersed and could not be found. Daniel shay started the whiskey rebellion in which he stirred up farmers and peasents against the government because of the tax on whiskey. Collection of the tax met violent resistance, but when president washington called out the militia, the rebellion collapsed.
Brief guide to resources about the whiskey rebellion of 1794, especially as it. This page is part of a larger pbs companion site to a documentary on the duel between alexander hamilton and aaron burr, so it focuses on the role that hamilton played in the rebellion. They were owed a large sum of money from the government and were never compensated for it. The whiskey rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal. A paucity of evidence and the inability to obtain witnesses hampered the trials. The whiskey rebellion a brief summary of the events of the 1794 summer that became known as the whiskey rebellion. Washington and the whiskey rebellion george washington like many other founding fathers, believed that one weakness of the articles of confederation was that the federal government could not deal firmly with domestic uprisings such as shays rebellion. The whiskey rebellion was triggered by a tax imposed on distilled liquors in 1791. The end of the whiskey rebellion in late october 1794, the federalized militia entered the western counties of pennsylvania and sought out the whiskey rebels. The chain of events that led to the whiskey rebellion began when alexander hamilton put together an agreement between the states and the federal government that said the feds would assume all the debts incurred by the states after the revolutionary war.
Whiskey history is a long, adventurous story, and many brave people fought to keep the drink flowing along the way. The whiskey rebellion was a tax protest in the united states beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of george washington, ultimately. The whiskey rebellion was a tax rebellion that happened in the colonial united states. As washingtons expedition approached its destination from the mountains to the east. There was not one state south of new york whose western counties did not protest the new excise with some sort of violence. Encyclopedia of greater philadelphia whiskey rebellion. The whiskey rebellion american experience official site pbs.
The whiskey rebellion was a tax protest launched by farmers of the western frontier in a bid to oppose the new excise tax on whiskey. During june of 1794, local officials ordered the arrest of whiskey ringleaders. The idea for the 1791 excise tax on whiskey was led by the treasury secretary alexander hamilton. Because many americans were angered that jays treaty didnt. Washington to personally lead the united states militia westward to stop the rebels. Us president washington knew he had to keep order and end the whiskey rebellion. Alexander hamilton offered the idea to try and make up for the young countrys debt from the war. Whiskey was easier to sell than raw grain, and it held its value better. According to jefferson, these rebellions can be viewed as a positive to check the power of the national government.
Overview of the whiskey rebellion, uprising against the liquor tax in pennsylvania in 1794 that was militarily quelled by the new u. George washington, always aware that as the new nations first president, his every action would be drawn. What came to be known as the whiskey rebellion of 1794, or the western insurrection, took place over a period of time beginning in 1791 by most accounts. Legacy of the whiskey rebellion a few rebels were arrested, but only two were tried and convicted. In june 1794, innkeeper john lynn agreed to sublet part of his rented house in western pennsylvania to john neville. The whiskey rebellion and jays treaty grain was the most valuable cash crop for many american farmers. The debts that the states had because of the revolutionary war were assumed by the national government the national government would. The suppression of the rebellion had gathered widespread approval, a success in the minds of washington and other members of the u. While some would say the roots go back much further, it was not until march 3.
After fruitless negotiations with the 15member committee representing the rebels which included antifederalist pennsylvania legislator and later u. How was the whiskey rebellion different from shays. Shays rebellion was an issue that the western parts lacked hard currency and traded with goods. The whiskey rebellion was a 1794 uprising of farmers and distillers in western pennsylvania in protest of a whiskey tax enacted by the federal government. The whiskey rebellion was a response to the excise tax proposed by. American revolutionary war veteran daniel shays led four thousand rebels called shaysites in a protest. The whiskey rebellion was a result of the whiskey tax march, 1791, but the actual uprising was in pennsylvania, near pittsburgh in september, 1794. In the end, once the federalized militia forces marched across the. Thomas jeffersons administration eventually declared the tax unenforceable and repealed it in 1803 a move that many u. President george washington decides to subdue whisky rebellion. The whiskey rebellion and jays treaty us history i ay.
By the end of november, more than 150 people had been arrested. Students will gain an understanding of why the pennsylvania farmers rebelled and why president washington responded the way he did to the whiskey rebellion. Washington and the whiskey rebellion bill of rights. Whiskey rebellion for kids the 1791 excise tax the whiskey rebellion was sparked by the excise tax on distilled spirits that was enacted with the act of march 3, 1791. Alexander hamilton, secretary of the treasury, had proposed the excise enacted by congress. Selling whiskey was how people traded things in western pennsylvania, so they thought the new tax was very unfair. He saw the rebellion as a national threat to the national government following the american revolution, what did congress fear about a strong central government. The rebellion stemmed from a postrevolutionary war depression and a shortage of hard money that left western farmers in danger of losing their land to foreclosures as. The whiskey rebellion after the tax was passed, many of the farmers in the west remembered how the. How did the whiskey rebellion end differently than shays. Anger about the tax was widespread along the frontier from pennsylvania to georgia. While some would say the roots go back much further, it was not until march 3, 1791 that congress instituted an excise tax on distilled liquors that set the.
The calling of the militia had the desired effect of essentially ending the whiskey rebellion. Third effect of the war the end of the party of the wealthy business people. In 1794 some farmers in pennsylvania rebelled against the government because of a tax on whiskey. Shays rebellion exposed a weak government and the whiskey rebellion showed the power of the new constitution. The troops were militias from new jersey, pennsylvania, virginia and. In addition, and probably more importantly, hamilton was planning to leave his position at the end of the year. Its the whiskey rebellion illustrated featuring the original captain america. On august 7, 1794 the president issued another proclamation calling for the rebels to disperse and return to their homes as well as invoking the militia act of 1792 5 which allowed the president to use state military militiamen to put an end to the rebellion. Most importantly, the governments act on the rebellion showed the willingness and power of the new federal government to suppress violence and. Why did the whiskey rebellion end differently than shays rebellion.
The first two convictions of americans for federal treason in united states history occurred in philadelphia in the aftermath of the whiskey rebellion, an uprising against the federal excise tax on whiskey that took place primarily in western pennsylvania in 179194. Why did whiskey cause thousands of farmers to rebel. The whiskey rebellion also known as the whiskey insurrection was a tax protest in the united states beginning in 1791 and ending in 1794 during the presidency of george washington, ultimately under the command of american revolutionary war veteran major james mcfarlane. In the west, selling grain to a local distillery for alcohol production was typically more profitable than shipping it over the appalachians to eastern markets. The socalled whiskey tax was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. By midnovember, the militia had arrested 150 rebels, including 20 prominent leaders of the insurrection.
The whiskey rebellion ended not because of the threat posed by hamiltons army, but because many of the concerns of the frontiersmen were finally addressed. Two shortlived armed uprisings, shayss rebellion and the whiskey rebellion, took place just before and shortly after the creation of the federal constitution. The whiskey rebellion was an uprising of western pennsylvania farmers that took place between 17911794 in response to alexander hamiltons excise tax on whiskey. Washingtons strong response to the whiskey rebellion became, as futurepresident james madison put it, a lesson to every part of the union against disobedience to the laws. Shays rebellion shays rebellion was an uprising in massachusetts during late 1786 and early 1787. How is shays rebellion different from the whiskey rebellion. Shays rebellion called for revision of the articles, the whiskey rebellion caused washington to take a stand against rebellion and eventually caused political parties to form. The militia apprehended approximately 150 men and tried them for treason. The whiskey tax was hamiltons chosen method of paying for part of this obligation, and the two leaders did not suggest an alternative.