In this article, Rich explores how the President reacted to the Whiskey Insurrection in western Pennsylvania. In the early 1790s, protest meetings were held, resulting proclamations from Washington. The protest came to a head when Neville’s home was burned down, forcing the President to action. Washington issued proclamations, warning use of force and assembled a force to quarrel the insurrection. Militias were called up from surrounding states, totaling 15,000 men. Washington sent three commissioners to western Pennsylvania, to prevent violence and use of military force. The commissioners were authorized to grant concessions and negotiate settlements. General Lee’s troops moved westward from Carlisle. The march was disorderly, soldiers stole…
What provoked the Whiskey Rebellion? How did the government respond? In your answer, discuss the foundations and precedents of the conflict as well as the significance of the government’s response.…
George Washington here is trying to “Bottle Up” the Whiskey Rebellion, or basically put an end to it. The reason for his action is because of this tax on whiskey, considered a domestic product, was causing a insurrection by the people. The government thought that this would be a way to capitalize on getting extra revenue but the people noticed and did not feel obliged to pay extra for their everyday goods. An additional factor that added to this huge revolt against the whiskey tax was that drinking at this time was not uncommon. You could go to a ball, saloon, dance etc. and you would see alcohol of all sorts. This was just something that could not be taxed and would not throw the nation up in arms. The people were upset leading to this…
Starting with Shay’s Rebellion in 1786 then with the Whiskey Rebellion following in 1791 and the last being Fries’ Rebellion in 1799 were three rebellions the uncultivated American government had to put down and dispose of. Shay’s Rebellion being the first and biggest set the standard for each. All the rebellions thought they were exercising their rights and following their nation’s suite by revolting and using their voice and Shay’s case arms as well. After the Revolutionary War the United States was in major debt and needed to pay if off somehow. Taxing, an easy way for governments to collect revenue, seemed logical for the new nation but it lacked the layout to enforce settlers in the west. To keep their hold over the squatters bills were starting to be passed providing a heavier burden of…
The colonists have 3 main charges on King George the 3rd. The first charge is the Quartering Act, that wasn’t fair to the colonists. They had to house the soldiers that they hated with despair! The second charge was “Taxation Without Representation.” The colonists had no idea they were going to be taxed. The King just gave them the taxes without any notice. The last charge was The Boston Tea Party. Samuel Adams and the Sons Of Liberty boarded three ships and threw 342 chests of tea overboard! This pulled us even closer to war.…
whiskeys rebellion began in 1791, president george washington proposed a sales tax on whiskey to pay for the war debt. the colonists yet viewed this tax as an unjust system, this is known as taxation without representation starting a rebellion. To maintain the rebellion and resolve issues washington issued a proclamation in 1972 if they withdrawal they wouldn't force a militia but they failed to do so. The colonist got violent and burnt the houses of tax collectors leaving no choice to george washington but to force a militia to end the whiskey…
George Washington freed America and commenced the new era of a democratic government for the United States of America. The first president, George Washington, as we know created ingenious battle strategies to defeat and ultimately destroy the bond between Britain and America, such as when Washington led the Continental Army to Trenton then replying back with glee to the President of the Congress “I have the pleasure of Congratulating you upon the success of an enterprise which I had formed against a Detachment of the Enemy lying in Trenton, and which was executed yesterday Morning. The Evening of the 25th I ordered the Troops intended for this Service (which were about 2400) to parade back of McKonkey's Ferry, that they might begin to pass…
General George Washington had nearly 3 years of retirement by 1776 and expected he had been removed from the public for good. However, when news came about of a rebellion in Massachusetts, Washington became worried. Desperate for news on the event, he depended largely on information from old friends such as General Henry Knox and General Benjamin Lincoln. “But for God's sake tell me what is the cause of all these commotions: do they proceed from licentiousness, British-influence disseminated by the stories, or real grievances which admit of redress? If the latter, why were they delayed 'till the public mind had become so much agitated? If the former, why are not the powers of Government tried at once?” (Challenge to Authority: Daniel Shays'…
The United States is the land of opportunity, and this was no truer than during the late-Colonial phase in North America. The men and women who came to the 13 colonies worked for everything they had and eventually broke away from the British when the colonists grew unhappy with the governance. Without the "Founding Fathers," this would not have been possible; the men who declared independence, ran the war effort, and created the government were exceptional individuals. Many of the "Founding Fathers" were self-made men who rose through the ranks and made something out of themselves during the Revolution. Some had nothing to lose when they declared their independence, but others had everything to lose, and George Washington risked it all to gain…
The rebellion loomed large in the minds of delegates who came to Philadelphia to find a solution to the crises destabilizing the fledgling nation. It presented the most dramatic example of the unrest and dissension occurring throughout the new United States that alarmed people across a wide spectrum of post-revolutionary society. Citizens understood that the American Revolution would mean both greater economic opportunity as well as the end of political oppression. For many, expectations were dashed while others railed against the social and economic mobility the American Revolution had unleashed. It involved fundamental economic, social, and political issues, Shays’ Rebellion forced ordinary Americans no less than elite leaders like George Washington, to think about their understandings of the promises of the American Revolution and what kind of government would fulfill them. This contributed to the creation of a strong federal government more capable of addressing the economic and political needs of a new nation. The Philadelphia Convention of 1787 allowed government officials to take a closer look at why the previous government laws, the Articles, were not working. With the new understanding of a promising government George Washington also became the first president of the United States. One of his first motions was to fix the Articles, which resulted in the formation of…
Americans were justified in waging war because King George III was ignoring and not listening to the colonists.” Some of them had been tarred, others had their property burnt and destroyed by the populace”(Doc. I). The King of British did not give any of the colonists a say in the government which caused the tarring and destroyed populaces. “There is another late act of Parliament...The Townshend Act.” (Doc. B). The colonists once again didn’t have a say in the government. The colonists didn’t even have a choice about the…
Many people think rebellions are a bad thing. Those people probably do not know that there were three rebellions that would change America for the better. The three rebellions happened in three key states/colonies. Shays’ Rebellion was in Massachusetts, the Whiskey Rebellion was in Pennsylvania and Bacon’ Rebellion was in the colony of Virginia. The most important rebellion was Shays’ Rebellion because it gave this country the need for a stronger central government.…
The Whiskey Rebellion, was a rebellion caused by taxes on whiskey produced by farmers in western Pennsylvania (PBS). Farmers there usually bartered to get the things they needed. They didn’t often receive cash for the whiskey, so they didn’t think they should have to pay taxes on the whiskey (Appleby). The so-called "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed on a domestic product by the newly formed federal government. It became law in 1791, and was intended to generate revenue to help reduce the national debt. (Wikipedia)…
Slaughter is a very interesting author who does not write like many of his peers on historic topics. Throughout the whole book, Slaughter does not give his own opinions on what happened during the Whiskey Rebellion, but rather, he gives non biased facts to present both arguments through primary and secondary sources. His book describes the actions that led up to the rebellion in western Pennsylvania in 1794 and how certain actions led to responses by both the people and the government. In the beginning of the book, Slaughter writes about how this Rebellion was over a federal tax on whiskey that was an idea from the Secretary of the Treasury, who at this time was Alexander Hamilton. Slaughter says that the tax was designed to retire the national debt and was approved by Congress and supported by President George Washington. In the book, Slaughter takes the time at the introduction to explain all the underlying causes of this national argument and gives a detailed explanation of why some citizens thought the tax was acceptable while others believed it was abusive.…
In the eighteenth century, settlers resorted to violent protest to express their disagreements. Before the occurrence of the violent protests, the country was still recovering from the aftermath of the French and Indian War. The country was subject to the payment of debt from Britain who declared that the colonies were in protection of Britain during the war, also known as parliamentary sovereignty. Along with the debt, there were tensions with the natives in the land due to the decreasing space in proportion to the British expansion of territory. The Treaty of Paris of 1763 was also signed, giving French control over Canada to Britain. While there were still disputes over how government revenue should be raised, the occurrence of these events…