Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire President sends 13,000 troops to quell western protestors!

It was the Whiskey Rebellion.

Residents viewed this [whiskey] tax as yet another instance of unfair policies dictated by the eastern elite that negatively affected American citizens on the frontier...

President Washington sought to resolve this dispute peacefully. In 1792, he issued a national proclamation admonishing westerners for their resistance to the "operation of the laws of the United States for raising revenue upon spirits distilled within the same."2 However, by 1794 the protests became violent. In July, nearly 400 whiskey rebels near Pittsburgh set fire to the home of John Neville, the regional tax collection supervisor. Left with little recourse and at the urgings of Secretary Hamilton, Washington organized a militia force of 12,950 men and led them towards Western Pennsylvania, warning locals "not to abet, aid, or comfort the Insurgents aforesaid, as they will answer the contrary at their peril."

Yep, even Washington violated the constitution.

I was born and raised outside of Monongahela, PA, where the Whisky rebellion took place. There is a big plaque there commemorating it which is right beside a big Catholic church near the corner of Main Street and Park Ave.

Even while I was growing up, there were still a few stills around. Bet there still is today.

..BINGO BANGO!

The first thing the new NON King did with the hard won American freedom, is call Federal troops down on a group of frontier farmers who refused to pay the whiskey tax....

...just like a bunch of disguised "indians" did in a certain harbor with some tea.

Ironical, ain't it.

(although it probably gave Washington some ballsy power that the area he came to quell was like a blueprint of his early career during Virginia Company, and French and Indian War days. He knew exactly where he was going, and what to expect)

As my father used to spout: don't do as I do, do as I say.

A man ought to rebel when they mess with his whiskey.

Without the power of taxation under the Article of Confederation, both the National and the state governments were in deep do-do.
Treasury Secretary Hamilton used the new Constitution to fix all that.

And Washington to his great credit, pulled it off without bloodshed and with pardons for tax protest ringleaders.

Nobody has ever figured out an easy way to tax moonshine to this day.
But by God, Washington gave us a real country.

Well said.

Good comment. Somebody had to levy taxes in order for the new government to function. Remember, this was domestic taxation, not one imposed from abroad.

There is no doubt that George Washington, universally respected, could pull this off peacefully where others might not have done.

It is interesting to contrast it with current events and current leaders.

Washington owned the biggest distillery in the USA.

First of all, they didn't just "refuse" to pay the tax. They attacked the property of the tax collector. Protests, unfortunately have to remain peaceful until the first blow is struck by the government, then all hell can break loose. But, it's kind of hard on the first protesters to get struck.

Yep . However there also is a lot not told in the original post . which IMO gives a rather twisted outcome of Washington�s actions .

First Washington at first resisted the idea of sending troops into Pennsylvania.
One of the big reasons was that there was no federal troops past a small contingent of full time officers .
we didn�t have a standing, full time federal Army tell after the US civil war . hence the state requirements for militia duties , which is still a requirement under mosts state constitutions even today . Despite the idea that many have that the NG is the militia, which in fact its not
It also wasn�t Washington�s idea but Alexander Hamilton�s
What Washington did instead ,was to place the militia on notice and then send in federal negotiators. When talks failed Washington accepted Hamilton�s view and sent the 1300 militia led by Hamilton and Virginia governor Henry Lee.
They were not federal troops but state militia. Hamilton was also mainly a federal advisor with Lee as commander. However by the time those troops got there , the rebellion had pretty much dissolved all on its own and they had to go looking for the so call rebals

I would suggest reading up on this . Its not hard to find information about as its also detailed in Washington�s papers at Mt Vernon. Thomas Jefferson also wrote about this and was very clear that the move was a mistake.

It also should be noted that Hamilton was a federalist and later became the leader of the federalist party . IE at even that time there was a division among our founders as to what the real federal authority was .

Thus when Jefferson took office he repealed many of the federal taxs as he felt that the citizens should not have to deal with a federal tax agent , which was very much the same as the Kings tax agent. hence his famous words ; that the earth belongs in usufruct to the living. Which was about the tax and Hamilton�s idea of what the federal powers were.
It also should be recognized that Hamilton , though a federalist , supported Jefferson in his bid for the presidency . That support was what the duel between Burr and Hamilton was all about . in the end what got Hamilton killed when Bur shot him in thier duel .

As I said , you can read about it in the Mt Vernon papers or for those who lean more towards the federalist views , you can read about it one the government web site . Its public information and not some obscure happening in our history