Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper
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.
Secretary of the treasure, Andrew Hamilton, need a way to tackle the unpaid Revolutionary War debt. He decided not to tax the general import but rather tax the wealthiest landowners. He proposed a twenty five percent tax on whiskey to be paid by the farmer that manufactured the whiskey and also an even higher tax to the people that purchased it. In 1971 Congress approved this tax and the people in the Western regions were very unhappy. Due to the newly imposed tax, many grainers were only receiving 1/3 of the revenue due to the new tax. The government allowed the Whiskey tax to be paid in two ways, either the farmer could pay a flat rate of they would be taxed by the gallon. This tax hit the small farmers harder because the larger distillery received tax breaks. …show more content…
In return, the farmers protested and sometimes violence broke out. A group of farmers burned, tax collector, John Neville’s house down because he refused to leave and wanted to collect the tax. Neville later pressed charged against the men that hurt him, and because of this action, this provoked the Whiskey Rebellion. When the violence broke out, The Federal Government sent out troops to enforce the tax and also to protect the tax collectors from any harm. Most farmers believed that the federal government overreacted and made irrational judgment even though the whiskey tax was hard to collect, the government still prosecuted tax
Secretary of the treasure, Andrew Hamilton, need a way to tackle the unpaid Revolutionary War debt. He decided not to tax the general import but rather tax the wealthiest landowners. He proposed a twenty five percent tax on whiskey to be paid by the farmer that manufactured the whiskey and also an even higher tax to the people that purchased it. In 1971 Congress approved this tax and the people in the Western regions were very unhappy. Due to the newly imposed tax, many grainers were only receiving 1/3 of the revenue due to the new tax. The government allowed the Whiskey tax to be paid in two ways, either the farmer could pay a flat rate of they would be taxed by the gallon. This tax hit the small farmers harder because the larger distillery received tax breaks. …show more content…
In return, the farmers protested and sometimes violence broke out. A group of farmers burned, tax collector, John Neville’s house down because he refused to leave and wanted to collect the tax. Neville later pressed charged against the men that hurt him, and because of this action, this provoked the Whiskey Rebellion. When the violence broke out, The Federal Government sent out troops to enforce the tax and also to protect the tax collectors from any harm. Most farmers believed that the federal government overreacted and made irrational judgment even though the whiskey tax was hard to collect, the government still prosecuted tax