The Pros And Cons Of The Moonshine

Register to read the introduction… Lots of American farmers found themselves unable to make enough money to support their families. One of the main ingredients of Moonshine is corn. A farmer could take a subpar corn farm and turn it into a goldmine. Obviously the Government did not approve of this practice. There are a couple good reasons for the Government to oppose this practice. With underground Moonshine sales growing they were losing a large amount of tax revenue; secondly, there was no way to regulate production, and Moonshine could easily become hazardous if precautions weren’t taken. After the American Revolution, the Government began sending out tax collectors which they called Revenuers. These officials would go to Moonshine producers and attempt to collect taxes owed. Something the Government had overlooked was that the American citizens had just fought the Revolutionary War. A major spark that lit the fire of revolution in America was the statement “no taxation without representation”. Many Americans felt they had traded one tyranny for another. Some of the appeal of producing Moonshine was shear defiance. Many Moonshiners saw it as a protest. When Revenuers came calling most of the time they were ran off by force. Sometimes they were tarred and feathered(Grabianowski).
The Whiskey Rebellion was a major statement of defiance to the distilled spirits tax. The implications of the rebellion were vast. It was not just a rebellion against the tax on distilled spirits, but a statement of discontent about federal laws in general. The rebellion received its name because Revenuers sparked the violence (earlyamerica.com). The Revenuers were attacked while attempting to collect the whiskey taxes. The Government quickly squashed this rebellion with military …show more content…
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