The Whiskey Rebellion
By Carissa Wideman
Thesis
World History. A class that is the most important for learning about the world’s past. An hour and a half when us students learn about religion, wars, the most influential people, and what makes our world what it is today. But, do we really learn about things we should be learning about?
Point 1
This rebellion was very important to our past because it was the first test of federal authority. The authorities had to make the decisions on what to do. The government was getting itself into debt because wars. So, they decided to put a tax on on the most sold item, Whiskey. Citizens were not happy with this. Because of those unhappy people, this started a huge revolution.
Point Two
The 54 million dollar debt in 1794, in today’s dollars, is equivalent to $1.975 trillion dollars. Because of this debt, there came the whiskey tax. Most people saw this tax to be unfair and unlawful. However, others saw this as more money. To wealthy farmers, this tax only brought in more revenue, for the poor farmers, this tax was only an exchange for whiskey.
Point Three
In the next few years of the tax, riots started to happen all over the nation against the central government. The tax collectors who were doing their job were beat by the citizens and some would refuse to pay, which resulted in a lost job.
Other Important Things to Know
Under the Articles of Confederation, the government did not have the right to levy any taxes which meant they cannot create new ones just to cover debt. To cover the debt, the government, must then, collect money from the states.
Washington ordered a militia of 13,000 men to end the rebellion. A few nights before Washington and his troops arrived, rebels broke up and came to a hault. The rebellion officially ended on the night of November 13, 1704. It was not until 1801 that the tax was officially banned.