Whiskey Rebellion In American History

Superior Essays
1791
1. The Whiskey Rebellion

After the Revolutionary War, government tried to procure a steady source of revenue through taxing whiskey. In response, the government faced a small-scale revolution by some of its own citizens. Most of the country felt negatively toward taxing in general, much less taxing on whiskey. In 1974, a tax inspectors home was attacked by a group of whiskey rebels. The actions of the rebels turned head and the presence of the Whiskey Rebellion threatened to expand to other states outside of Pennsylvania. In response to the destruction, Alexander Hamilton advised military action, and soon 13,000 militia were led by Hamilton and dispersed the the crowds. This event is important because it is the first of many events of American history of the government, for whatever reason, trying to put a stop to alcoholic drinking, so this paves a path of more conflict between the people and the government in later years.

This picture illustrates the conflict and struggle of the government trying to suppress the rebels of the whiskey rebellion.
1877
Compromise of 1877: The End of Reconstruction
The Compromise of 1877 concluded that the Democrats accepted a Republican president, and to respect the civil and political rights of African Americans, on the condition that Republicans withdraw all
…show more content…
Dorsey wrote a song that was inspired by his wife’s death while in labor. Surprisingly enough, the song revolutionized music a whole new genre: Gospel Blues. This song, “Take My Hand, Precious Lord,” impressioned the modern African American gospel music tradition. The song was made known to all ears when Martin Luther King Jr. on many occasions requested it be sung before civil rights marches. This person is important because they touched many aspects of American history: the advance and change of the culture of music, and the advance in the cultural change of relations between African Americans and white

Related Documents

  • Superior Essays

    This even was called Shay’s Rebellion. The rebellion was an armed revolt during 1786-1787 (Shay’s Rebellion). Daniel Shay was the head leader of this event that was a rebellion against perceived economic injustices and suspension of civil rights (Boatner). Even though Shay’s Rebellion was a defeat military, it did prompt national leaders to call for a stronger federal government to overpower future rebellions. Proponents of constitutional reform cite the rebellion as justification for revision or replacement of the Articles of Confederation…

    • 1529 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Shays Rebellion Shays’ Rebellion was the final nail in the coffin for the Articles of Confederation. It managed to serve as the catalyst for the Founding Fathers to recognize the necessity for change to a stronger and more centralized government. The rebellion highlighted several of the documents’ failings that ultimately were due to the weak and decentralized government that the Articles of Confederation established. One of the most influential events that strongly affected the US Constitution was Shays Rebellion. Shay’s Rebellion was a series of local protest in the Fall of 1786 to spring of 1787 that was led by American farmers.…

    • 1468 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Causes Of Cary's Rebellion

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages

    North Carolina is a unique state in regards to its history. First colonized nearly four hundred years ago, North Carolina has had a turbulent history. From the beginning, there were issues with the Native Americans. As time progressed, the colony continued to have issues, not only with Native Americans, but also problems with the British. Though North Carolina was a British territory, their shared history was one of a rebellious nature against the crown.…

    • 1166 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Shays Rebellion Analysis

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages

    In today’s America we are witnessing the divide between political standpoints of individual state governments and the federal government. With hot button topics such as gun laws and the legalization of the recreational use of marijuana and the varying laws pertaining to these topics from state to state, one might recall why in this great country of ours do our states and local governments reserve the right to have different standpoints and sign in different laws on the same topics and issues. It is imperative to the full understanding of how our complex government works to look back in history and review one historical occurrence in particular, Shays’ Rebellion. Daniel Shays, a farmer and retired officer of the continental army faced an issue…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Articles of the Confederation was a turning point in United States history. Delegates had a meeting to discuss the Articles of Confederation since the state constitutions were drafted. They were then sent to the states for ratification after the state constitutions were drafted, Virginia was the first to validate the Articles. The Articles of Confederation made sure the United States wasn 't known as a nation but instead a league of friendship. The Articles had many key features making it stand out.…

    • 811 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1788, Alexander Hamilton convinced New Yorkers to approve and ratify the U.S constitution. George Washington, the very first president of the United States, was in office from 1789-1797. The Whiskey Rebellion, one of the most important rebellions during his presidency, led to the Militia Act of 1792. The second president of the United States was John Adams (1797-1801). By the time he took office, Britain and France were in war and this had an effect in the trade of America.…

    • 354 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Before 1860 the American government had always settled its disagreements with compromise. The Missouri Compromise, the Compromise of 1850 and the Kansas Nebraska act are all instances where there were disagreements settled with compromise. This worked until the tension over slavery started to result in violence. By the year 1860 it seemed that nobody was willing to compromise. This was because there was no more room for compromise with slavery, the growing hatred of it in the North meant it had to be dealt with, each side had compromised as much as they were willing to.…

    • 1358 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Whiskey Rebellion essentially occurred because passing of Hamilton’s proposal to tax whiskey by the House and the Senate. When Hamilton proposed that whiskey be taxed it was in effort to recover from the debt that stemmed from the Revolutionary War (American Experience, 1). Farmers in Pennsylvania were angered when they learned of the tax being imposed on their products, they rioted and Washington ended the rebellion by leading his troops to bring peace back to the nation. As Washington stated in his proclamation, “Provided always, that, whenever it may be necessary in the judgment of the President to use the military force…command such insurgents to disperse and retire peaceably to their respective abodes within a limited time” (Washington, 2). Proving, once again, the importance of this proclamation.…

    • 1131 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1775, the thirteen British colonies on the east coast of North America did something very bold. They began to fight for their independence. Fighting went on for eight more years until the Americans and British signed the Treaty of Paris in 1783. The American Revolution caused the Americans to reassess the politics, society, and economy in their young country. Americans didn’t want a government that resembled the British monarchial rule at all, but they would soon find out that they would need a strong centralized government.…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In 1791, the government of the United States previously running under the Articles of Confederation had been replaced by a hands on, more effective government stipulated under the United States Constitution that had come into power in 1789 . The government took over the debts accumulated from the states from the American Revolutionary War. One stipulation to waiver the debts by the federal government was a tax on distilled spirits. Larger producers of beer were to be charged six cents a gallon whereas smaller producers were to be taxed a higher rate of nine cents a gallon. The smaller producers were outraged by this…

    • 835 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the presidential election, Samuel J. Tilden had more popular and electoral votes than Rutherford B. Hayes. However, there were still four states in dispute. Since there was no possible way to determine who should win the electoral votes, a compromise was made. The “Compromise of 1877” was made between the Republicans and Democrats. The Republicans were awarded with the remaining 20 electoral votes towards Rutherford B. Hayes, winning him the election.…

    • 846 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Without Shays’ Rebellion, our nation's leaders would not have realized the problems The Articles of Confederation caused for the people. The leaders that realized this problem were George Washington, Alexander Hamilton and James Madison. They fixed this problem by starting the drafting of The Constitution at the Constitutional Convention in 1787. Shay’s Rebellion was an important conflict caused by the government’s weak economic policy and led to the actual rebellion which then resulted in the Constitutional Convention.…

    • 1230 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Contrary to his economic decisions, Hayes was not able to step up as a leader and champion for African American rights, and failed to create meaningful laws that would protect their civil liberties, even though he was a strong advocate for equal rights. “After the 1878 congressional and state elections, Hayes admitted in private that his experiment in entrusting southern whites to protect the civil rights of blacks had failed.” Hayes did not use his position in power to benefit the African Americans enough. Even with the Compromise of 1877, the south failed to follow through on their promise to protect voting and civil rights of African Americans. Although Hayes was smart to compromise, as he really didn’t have an option to remove the troops without angering the south further, there was not enough legislation following the compromise in order to secure African American rights.…

    • 385 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The Compromise of 1850 was a series of congressional statutes passed in September of 1850, in which the United States Congress sought out to settle conflicts between those who opposed slavery in the North and those in favor of slavery in the South. There is much speculation about what the United States would be like today without this Compromise. Which leads to the question, should the Compromise have ever been approved? Still, regardless if the Compromise was approved or not, the Civil War was an inevitable event in American history. The Compromise of 1850 was an attempt to solve tensions between the North and the South over the expansion of slavery, specifically into Texas, which was a territory obtained by the United States in the Mexican…

    • 808 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    The tax was enforced by the government on all distilled beverages. At the time whiskey was the most popular among those beverages so the tax became known as the “whiskey tax”. There was quite a bit of pushback among some parts of the country and protests became violent. The new government stood firm and through perseverance showed the nation they were capable of making and enforcing laws. Later, during his presidency, Lincoln too made history as the very first president who implemented the federal income tax.…

    • 1618 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays