Hamilton and the Whiskey Boys
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 was the first major challenge of sovereignty following the War for Independence. It showed that not all citizens would be satisfied with the young government; and, that the establishment was fully capable of responding to a rebellion resulting from such dissatisfaction.
Following the 1780’s, the young United States government had reached greater financial needs. Alexander Hamilton, Washington’s Secretary of the Treasury, wanted to increase revenue. Among other methods, he introduced a stiff new excise tax on whiskey and stills. Congress passed the tax on March 3, 1791. It became the Tariff Act of 1792 and placed a tax of 20 to 30 cents on every gallon of whiskey produced. The measure was not welcomed, and legislatures of North Carolina, Virginia and Maryland even passed resolutions of disapproval shortly thereafter.
Farmers in western Pennsylvania were especially offended; they began to rally together in a refusal to pay the tax. A frontier lawyer by the name of David Bradford helped to organize resistance. Herman Husband, who had previously led the North Carolina Regulars, also assisted the insurgents. Some men opposed a violent
rebellion, most notable was Hugh Backenridge and Albert Gallatin. Their moderating efforts likely prevented the secession of Washington County from Pennsylvania and the Union.
The whiskey producers weren’t just protesters to the tax. On one occasion they tarred and feathered a collection officer. Another was severely flogged with beach rods and run out of the region. Everything came to a head on July 17 1794. Alexander Hamilton related the events himself to President Washington in a letter dated August 2: “Armed collections of men…have attacked the house of the inspector of the Revenue, burnt and destroyed his property, and shed the blood of persons engaged in it’s defense”.
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution gives congress the power “To provide for calling forth the militia to execute the laws of the Union, suppress insurrections, and repel invasions”. The approval was given and the Militia was called up. Hamilton implored Washington to gather an “imposing” force, as to “save the effusion of the blood of the citizens”. The President heeded this advice; on August 7 1794, four states furnished him with 15,000 men.
Washington immediately marched on western Pennsylvania accompanied by Generals Daniel Morgan, Henry Lee, as well as Alexander Hamilton in uniform. Hamilton was proving his conviction by going with the army as he explained to Angelica Church in a letter dated October 23, 1794: “’tis useful that those who propose measures should partake in whatever dangers they may involve”.
Hamilton reminded Washington that a proclamation was required by law to be issued previous to the use of force. The proclamation apparently had little or no effects. Upon the approach of the formidable militia, however, the rebels laid down arms, solicited clemency and promised future submission.
There were several factors that triggered the insurrection, this included regional conditions. Western Pennsylvania at the time was relatively remote economically, and grain was not cost-effective to ship long distances. Whiskey, however, could bear the cost of transport; it was even valuable enough to be used as trading currency. Therefore, extra grain was usually distilled. Because whiskey had this ubiquity, everyone felt the weight of the excise tax.
One must remember how recent the revolution was to the new Americans. The United States had declared its independence only eighteen years before. Certainly there were many whiskey-still owners who felt that the tax on whiskey was as objectionable as Britain’s pre-revolution Stamp Act. They likely believed the response should be the same: violent opposition.
Hamilton explains in his August 2 letter to Washington how “Various alterations have been made…” to the excise tax, although it never appears that he would support repeal of the Act. There is evidence that Hamilton was actually expecting a rebellion from the very beginning in his October 23 letter to Angelica Church; he wrote: “Assure [Mr. Church] that the insurrection will do us a great deal of good and add to the solidity of everything in this country”. The rebels seemed to fall into the government’s plans, as Madison charged, to “establish the principle that a standing army was necessary for enforcing the laws”.
Jefferson helped to repeal the tax after he took office in 1801. This surely came as welcome relief to many, but the decade of the Act’s duration and the resulting rebellion had important effects on the nation.
Unfortunately for the grain farmers, the military confrontation was a direct result of their violence in the summer of 1794. If they had continued to peaceably refuse to pay they may have avoided the government’s hammer. The Pennsylvanians had a right to resist the tax, but they initiated force, which gave the government cause to suppress their actions.
Conversely, this gave the government the chance to prove it was strong enough to cope with the situation. Quickly mustering 15,000 militia was obvious proof. This over-capable force was important to President Washington because “we had given no testimony to the world of being able or willing to support our government and laws”.
The first Administration of the United States had successfully established the authority of the system. Men in history have rebelled against oppressive governments many times. The difference was that these governments generally had perpetrated serious crimes against citizen or human rights. This time, the government had only passed a disagreeable tax, which they had not enforced militarily before the rebellion. The rebels had to learn that being a citizen under the Constitution was different from being a subject of a king. The real lesson was that an aggrieved party should work within the system of the Constitution for as long as is possible before resorting to force.
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