Whiskey Rebellion Research Paper

On March 3rd, 1791, the federal government, with George Washington as acting President, had passed an excise tax on whiskey. The farmers mostly grew the grains, however giving their location in the western counties of Pennsylvania, made grain shipments near impossible to the east. Traveling with shipments were difficult and very time consuming because the Allegheny Mountains separated the west from the east. Almost all farmers, from small to lager, kept their whiskey stills and continued to make whiskey with their extra grain. Whiskey was often used as money to pay for salaries and for troops to fright in the war. What the farmers did not keep for themselves, they would ship east, or for more profit they would ship west down the Ohio River …show more content…
General Neville still defied the protestors and was burned in effigy. In result to the spreading of the rebellion, in the state of Kentucky, there were no taxes collected. In North Carolina and Virginia, everyone feared their lives to serve as a tax collector. In the summer of 1794, Alexander Hamilton created new taxes on sugar to use as an excuse to send troops against the whiskey rebels. On July 15, Neville and federal marshal David Lenox, delivered subpoenas to 60 distillers who had failed to register their stills and were ordered to appear in court in Philadelphia, which was impractical for them to travel over the mountains for. At William Miller’s farm, many words and shots were fired, sending the marshal to Pittsburg and Neville back to Bower Hill for complete safety. The next day, some of the militia showed up at General Neville’s and demanded the turn-over of Lenox. Neville responded in utter shock by shooting and killing William Miller’s youngest nephew. The militia returned fire, but later retreated. They returned the next day with 600 men, and Neville had acquired reinforcements of 10 federal soldiers who sent Neville into hiding in a nearby ravine. The soldiers killed the rebel leader, James MacFarlane, who had fought in to revolutionary war, and continued to fight. The rebels continued to burn down Neville’s home, killings all of his farm animals, giving the soldiers no choice but to extract from this