The Whiskey Rebellion and Shays Rebellion Define: The Whiskey Rebellion was an event when the newly formed central government imposed a tax on distilled alcohol, such as whiskey. The tax was unpopular and viewed as a burden to farmers, who refused to pay the tax. Hordes of rebels terrorized the courts, disrupting their function. Shay’s Rebellion was led by Daniel Shay, a Revolutionary War captain, and those who followed him rebelled against the Massachusetts government because they imposed heavy taxes to pay state debt. Discuss: The Whiskey Rebellion was a show of strength from the new central government. The government ignored the plight of Shay and co. to fund Hamilton’s economic plan, which was beyond the capabilities of Congress; it was Hamilton who encouraged Washington to send the militia to disband the rebels. Shay’s rebellion was a display of social revolution and forced Massachusetts to make adjustments with debt collectors. Relate: These rebellions were important to early American political thought because it emphasized the need for a powerful federal government to collect taxes. Shays' Rebellion showed the weaknesses and shortcomings of the Articles of Confederation and which eventually contributed to the Constitution and granting the central government more power. The Whiskey Rebellion’s …show more content…
He argued that the government should not coerce people to practice a particular religion and not punish them for not conforming. Williams believed in the toleration of all religions, including those that were not accepted by the Puritan faith. He believed that all individuals should be allowed to pursue their own beliefs without being persecuted. Williams was also an advocate for Native Americans and believed they had a right to their lands, and that the government should not take their lands without the proper
In 1786, Daniel Shays, like other farmers, was with his inability to pay high debts. So, out of anger, formed a group of farmers who were frustrated too. The national government didn’t have a right or means to raise any army, so the governor of Massachusett formed an army on his own. New laws were drafted, which offered welcome relief to all of the debtors. But in the end, the rebellion helped highlight issues with the articles of confederation.
After the rebellion was squashed, many americans were alarmed that a mob of farmers were able to take over the Massachusetts government - even for a short time. The “commotions sufficiently shocked (George) Washington to set him on the road to Philadelphia” (Larson, 236 ) to rewrite the Articles of confederation and to make a new constitution. During the constitutional convention, the authors of the document gave lots of power to the central government to prevent another mob from taking over a government again. Because of the constitution, the federal government also received the power to tax all the states and pass laws that could hurt farmers (“Article I:”). This shows that Daniel Shays rebellion was unsuccessful because it went against the goals of the rebellion of getting taxed less and having having pro debtor laws.
The whiskey rebellion was caused due to the taxes passed on whiskey. “The whiskey tax is very unpopular but necessary.” (Hamilton) to raise revenue meant to pay off debts. In addition, the whiskey tax was meant to maintain the government's authority over westerners. The whiskey rebellion was caused because farmers could not afford the tax.
Hieu, I completely agree with your views on the two main struggles the Founding Fathers encountered while developing the foundation for this great nation. Your views on both taxation and the Shays ' Rebellion are very similar to mine. It 's crazy that a society in that time frame didn 't adopt the Europeans way of taxation, which evolved around the king and his government. Another good point you have is how it was up to the individual states to fend for themselves for protection. Where the thirteen colonies just finished working together to defeat Great Britain in the Revolutionary War.
Despite their effort to create a new government different from Britain's following their Independence in 1776, America’s executive branch paralleled Britain’s. One of the main concerns many Revolutionists had with Britain’s government was that it had too much unregulated power. To avoid this, America wrote down its laws clearly in the Articles of Confederation and ratified it among the colonies in 1781, creating a decentralized government. Through practice, the colonists realized the Articles of Confederation needed tweaking; Massachusetts farmers saw the prices for crops plummet in 1786 but the government still demanded they their mortgages. Shay’s rebellion followed, in which the farmers insisted that it was the government’s job to assist
This tax protest was known as the Whiskey Rebellion. In Western Pennsylvania, whiskey was a primary source that allowed farmers to use up corn and make money. To make more money, the government decided to pass a tax on all whiskey, an uproar broke out. Farmers refused to pay the tax, arguing that the Stamp Act was being brought about all over again. In 1794, farmers assaulted federal tax collectors.
This made farmers and whiskey makers very angry. They started to rebel against the tax, creating the Whiskey Rebellion. Violence started to spread from Western Pennsylvania, to other states. There were even small battles taking place. To end this, Hamilton urged Washington to send troops down to the area of the Whiskey Rebellion, and ended the rebellion, once and for all.
Displaying similar tactics used by colonists during the Stamp Act. The actions in which they had dealt with the Whiskey Rebellion had been opposite of those used on Shay's Rebellion. Washington had called out the militias of three states raising an army with numbers consisting of nearly 15,000 ( more than he had used against the British during the Revolution). Washington had continued to personally led the troops into the center of the resistance, Pittsburgh. When the troops reached Pittsburgh the rebellion had
The Whiskey Rebellion and Its Implications for American Politics and Society The Whiskey Rebellion was an uprising of American farmers against the government's heavy taxation. It sheds light on the young nation's struggle to reconcile its republican identity with the realities of state governance. After the United States became independent, to bear the old public debt and issue new public debt, it levied high excise taxes. Hamilton was one of the key figures in the "Whiskey Riot"(Hey, George Washington).
To address the whiskey rebellion, George Washington decided to take action. He suppressed the rebellion by sending federal troops to western Pennsylvania, where the rebellion was at its peak. This action
Thousands of farmers took up arms against the enforcement of a federal law calling for an excise tax on distilled spirits. It began in 1794 and is known as the Whiskey Rebellion. It signifies the largest organized resistance in opposition of federal authority between the American Revolution and the Civil War. Several of the rebels of the Whiskey Rebellion were prosecuted for treason in what were the first such legal proceedings in the United States (Whiskey Rebellion). The idea of taxation without local representation, was the main controversial argument behind the unfairness of the tax, which was exactly what the Americans had previously fought over.
10) The Whiskey Rebellion was significant because it showed that the government was willing and able to suppress oppositions with military force. The rebellion was a protest to Hamilton’s excise tax on spirits. The tax had cut demand for the corn whiskey the farmers distilled and bartered. Protestors waved banners that proclaimed the French revolution slogan “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity.” In response President Washington rallied a militia of 12,000 troops and dispersed the rebels.
The whiskey rebellion was a protest by many Americans who were against the new law that taxed whiskey. This law was put into place in 1791. The United States government was in debt from the war and they decided that taxing whiskey would slowly start eating away at Americas debt. George Washington was in his second year of presidency during 1791 although he wasn't the mastermind behind the whisky tax. Alexander Hamilton was the man behind this idea because he realized that Americans needed to do something to get out of their nearly eighty million dollars in debt they had accumulated from the war.
The dominance of the government over the poor farmers caused the March of Paxton Boys, Shays’ Rebellion, and Whiskey Rebellion. The same trend of violent protests due to the government 's inability to take account for the farmers showed up throughout the years. While Shays’ Rebellion had the biggest change for the government of America, the Whiskey Rebellion and the March of Paxton Boys helped to strengthen the power and duties of the government.
The Whiskey Rebellion was caused by a new federal tax on liquor that was levied by Alexander Hamilton in 1791. The farmers were outraged by the tax was because liquor was their most profitable commodity since Americans drank very much of it very often. In the area west of the Appalachian Mountains, liquor made from grain and fruit was the primary cash commodity. Due to a combination of these facts, farmers throughout the backcountry resisted the taxes. By the summer of 1794, a full out rebellion broke out in western Pennsylvania which resulted in the death of many federal officers who were trying to arrest warrants.