Whiskey Rebellion
The whiskey Rebellion Witten by Thomas P. Slaughter talks bout a rebellion that setup a precedent in American history. It gives us the opportunity to really comprehend this rebellion that thanks to fast action from the Federal government didn’t escalate to a more serious problem like civil war. The book the Whiskey Rebellion frontier of the epilogue to the American Revolution captures the importance and drama of the rebellion. The book is divided into three sections context, chronology and sequence. In the first section Slaughter explain the reason why the taxes was needed in the first place. According to Anthony Brandt in his article of American history name “Rye Whiskey, RYE Whiskey” Alexander Hamilton, secretary of the
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In the book written by Slaughter it says “as a foreign traveler remarked in 1781 the possibility of a separation of the federal union into two parts, at no distant day... was a matter of frequent discussion… and seemed to be an opinion that’s was daily gaining ground” Some predicted that it would turn into two Northern and Southern halves (31-30). This quote is supported by our textbook, which states that Washington also spoke to foreign policy matters in his retirement address he stated “United States to avoid making any permanent alliances with distant nations that has no real interest in promoting American security.” This statement became the cred for years to come of the American isolationist who argued that United States should steer clear of foreign entanglements. (171). These two statements support each other because Slaughter gives us the details about the uprising of the event, while the textbook gives us the conclusion of the …show more content…
Slaughter I finally understand the meaning of the rebellion. Even though it was just briefly mention in our history book America, Past and Present Vol 1- by Divine, Robert A. in about half a page about the people from western Pennsylvanians protested the tax on Whiskey in in 1794 basically the end of the rebellion. (170) This revolution is way more than that, it created a precedent for future generations that when the people is not okay with laws created by government they can come together and protest against it. A few years later we see that this was the case on the civil war were the south was not happy with the government abolition of slavery and they came together an acted against the president and the federal government. In my case I am a true believer that we must learn from the past to be able to enjoy a better
This Rebellion was so significant because it was the first time in the American Colonies that the Frontiersmen joined in something as bold as this. It also became a very significant rebellion because it hastened
Professor Thomas Slaughter has provided a most thorough overview of the Whiskey Rebellion, which he asserts had by the time this book was conceived nearly two centuries after the episode transpired, had become a largely forgotten chapter of our nation's history since the time of the Civil War. He cites as direct evidence of this fact the almost complete absence of any mention of the event in many contemporary textbooks of the conservative era of the 1980's, which this reviewer can attest to as well, having been a high school student in the late 1970's, who never heard of the Whiskey Rebellion until years later. Building off of his own dissertation on the topic, the author convincingly shows that the Whiskey Rebellion was in fact an event of tremendous importance for the future of the fledgling United States of America, which was spawned by the head-long collision of a variety of far-reaching forces and factors in the still quite primitive environs of western Pennsylvania that summer and fall. Slaughter contends that one must place the frontier at the center of the great political debates of the era and fully explore the ideological, social, political, and personal contexts surrounding the episode in order to fully understand the importance of its place in American history. In doing so the author has produced a very readable work that may be enjoyed by casual readers, who will likely find the individual vignettes which open each chapter particularly fascinating, and a highly useful basis of further research by future scholars into the importance of the frontier region as it relates to events on a national scale in those early days of the republic.
Before the American Revolution, there were social and economic changes which upset frontiersmen. They became agitated due to their social situation with Indians and their failing local government. In response to these annoyances, frontiersmen chose to use violence to achieve their demands. During this period of civil unrest, two attempted revolutions in particular made national headlines: The March of the Paxton Boys and The Regulator Movement. The movements differed because the Paxton Boys demanded social change while the Regulator Movement called for economic change. Both revolutions were similar because they used violence as a way to achieve their demands. The Paxton Boys rallied around the concept of retaliation against Indians; The
The American Revolution has too often been dominated by the narrative of the founding fathers and has since been remembered as a “glorified cause.” However, the American Revolution was not a unified war but a civil war with many internal disputes that wreaked havoc and chaos throughout America. In his book, The Unknown American Resvolution, Gary B. Nash attempts to unveil the chaos that the American Revolution really was through the eyes of the people not in power, including women, African American slaves, and Native Americans. In his book, Gary B. Nash emphasizes their significance in history to recount the tale of the American Revolution not through the eyes of the privileged elite but through the eyes of the people who sacrificed and struggled the most, but were left forgotten, in their endeavors to reinvent America.
Shay's Rebellion was the first armed uprising of the new nation. It was caused by the absence of debt relief legislation in Massachusetts. When the Revolution ended, merchants and creditors lobbied for high taxes and against paper money. They were successful. These procreditor polices underminded farmers' finances. The legislation, including foreclosure laws, were extremely taxing to farmers and caused many to go into great debt. Many farmers were dragged to court where they faced high legal fees and threats of imprisonment because of their debt. In 1786, farmers in Massachusetts attended extralegal meetings where they protested against high taxes and aggressive eastern creditors. Bands of angry farmers joined together to close law courts with force and freed debtors and fellow protesters from jail. Resistance to the legislation climbed to a full-scale revolt. John Adams, president at the time, answered with the Riot Act, which outlawed illegal assemblies. The rebellion was suppressed by military force. The rebellion prompted leaders with national perspective to redouble their efforts and create a stronger central government.
At the turn of the century, and after gaining our independence, the United States land mass more than doubled through the use of purchasing, annexing, and war. However, the foreign policy of our government took a predominately isolationist stand. This was a national policy of abstaining from political or economic relations with other countries. General Washington shaped these values by upholding and encouraging the use of these principles by warning to avoid alliances in his farewell speech. The reasoning behind these actions was that the Republic was a new nation. We did not have the resources or the means to worry about other countries and foreign affairs; our immediate efforts were internal. Our goals that were of primary importance were setting up a democratic government and jump-starting a nation. The United States foreign policy up to and directly preceding the Civil War was mainly Isolationist. After the war, the government helped bring together a nation torn apart by war, helped improved our industrialization, and helped further populate our continent. We were isolationist in foreign affairs, while expanding domestically into the west and into the north through the purchase of Alaska. However, around 1890 the expansionism that had taken place was a far cry from what was about to happen. Expansionism is the nations practice or policy ...
The most important issue prompting Americans to rebel in 1776 is clearly parliamentary taxation. The first time a Parliamentary imposed tax threatened the livelihood of the colonies was in 1733 with the Molasses Act, stemmed from the loss of profit for the British West Indies under the Navigation Act. However, this act was avoidable and rarely paid. Following the long and harrowing French and Indian War, Britain was deep in debt and George Grenville was appointed British Chancellor. He was determined to pay off the debt by brutally taxing the colonies. He not only reinforced the ignored Navigation Acts, but he placed the new Sugar Act which was similar to the Molasses Act which put a tax on rum and molasses imported from West Indies, but this Act would be enforced. Needless to say, the colonists were not used to this intrusion of Parliament and felt that it was wrong because there were no members in Parliament to represent the colonies. They felt it was a direct violation of their civil liberties and the first whiff of resentment was beginning to spawn. Next was the Currency Act which disregarded the colonies paper money, forcing the colonist to pay in only silver and sending their economy into chaos. Perhaps the most important and controversial acts were the Stamps Acts that placed a tax on legal documents, almanacs, newspaper, pamphlets, playing cards and dice.
September 1791, Robert Johnson was one of the many attacked for being a tax collectors, which are collecting the tax on distilled liquor. This tax is the first federal tax on American products. Gi...
“In the first years of peacetime, following the Revolutionary War, the future of both the agrarian and commercial society appeared threatened by a strangling chain of debt which aggravated the depressed economy of the postwar years”.1 This poor economy affected almost everyone in New England especially the farmers. For years these farmers, or yeomen as they were commonly called, had been used to growing just enough for what they needed and grew little in surplus. As one farmer explained “ My farm provides me and my family with a good living. Nothing we wear, eat, or drink was purchased, because my farm provides it all.”2 The only problem with this way of life is that with no surplus there was no way to make enough money to pay excessive debts. For example, since farmer possessed little money the merchants offered the articles they needed on short-term credit and accepted any surplus farm goods on a seasonal basis for payment. However if the farmer experienced a poor crop, shopkeepers usually extended credit and thereby tied the farmer to their businesses on a yearly basis.3 During a credit crisis, the gradual disintegration of the traditional culture became more apparent. During hard times, merchants in need of ready cash withdrew credit from their yeomen customers and called for the repayment of loans in hard cash. Such demands showed the growing power of the commercial elite.4 As one could imagine this brought much social and economic unrest to the farmers of New England. Many of the farmers in debt were dragged into court and in many cases they were put into debtors prison. Many decided to take action: The farmers waited for the legal due process as long as them could. The Legislature, also know as the General Court, took little action to address the farmers complaints. 5 “So without waiting for General Court to come back into session to work on grievances as requested, the People took matters into their own hands.”6 This is when the idea for the Rebellion is decided upon and the need for a leader was eminent.
In the 1770’s the American colonists were being taxed too much by the British and they started to want their independence. Britain was taxing the colonists to pay their debts from the French and Indian War. The colonists started to fight back by tarring and feathering some tax collectors. Britain sent troops to the colonies which caused more problems.
...able behavior far different from that of rebellion.” The colonists held their tongues as long as they could, but in 1676, their frustration grew too strong. Bacon and a thousand Virginians rebelled and overthrew the governor, in what is known as Bacon’s Rebellion. Shortly after the rebellion, Bacon died, and Governor Berkeley returned and viciously crushed the brigands.
One main focus of Washington’s farewell address was to alert the citizens of the U.S. that America should not get involved in foreign relations, especially with the flare between the French and the British. He wanted America to stay neutral in foreign matters and not hold long term alliances with other nations. He stated “Europe has a set of primary interests, which to us have none, or a very remote relation.” He included how it is unwise for America to implicate itself with artificial ties. Washington believed that if America did conduct with foreign nations then they would influence people as well as government to act as they wanted. In other words, Washington encouraged Americans to take advantage as a new union and avoid as much political affairs with others.
A revolution is a forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system. In 1775, America was ready for dramatic change, freedom, and a disconnection from Great Britain. Taxes, trade regulations, and overarching, power, made all colonists, aside from the loyalists, more than ready to detach from Great Britain’s rule. The American Revolution portrays many similarities and qualities of the French revolution, due to the inspiration of one to another. The similarities and qualities lie within their spiraling economies, selfish, money-worship-thirsty leaders, ideologies, and provocation.
The most fundamental reason for the American Revolution was the colonist’s outrage over taxation which led to a tax revolt launched by people who were tired of the burden of paying unfair taxes. The king placed taxes known as Townsend Acts, on the colonist’s tea, paper, paint, lead, glass, and many other items that were used daily and the colonists were against this taxing. The purpose of the Townsend Acts was to help pay the cost of government in America. Lawyer James Otis and other colonist rebels referred to King George as a tyrant. As stated by James Otis in The Rights of the British Colonies Asserted and Proved (1763), . . . “The very act of taxing exercised over those who are not represented appears to me to be depriving them of one of their most essential rights as freemen, and if continued seems to be in effect and entire
When one explains his or her ingenious yet, enterprising interpretation, one views the nature of history from a single standpoint: motivation. In The American Revolution: A History, Gordon Wood, the author, explains the complexities and motivations of the people who partook in the American Revolution, and he shows the significance of numerous themes, that emerge during the American Revolution, such as democracy, discontent, tyranny, and independence. Wood’s interpretation, throughout his literary work, shows that the true nature of the American Revolution leads to the development of United State’s current government: a federal republic. Wood, the author, views the treatment of the American Revolution in the early twentieth century as scholastic yet, innovative and views the American Revolution’s true nature as