The Whiskey Rebellion

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The great nation of the United States of America has been shaped by rebellions and revolutions since it was first colonized in the late 17th century. It is the brave men and women who speak up for liberty that keep the American spirit and constitutional freedom alive. Although it was rebellion and a revolution that broke America free from its mother country, they are the principles she was founded upon that spark rebellion and revolution against herself. One such principle is that the government’s authority is derived from the people and their consent to be governed. However, the extent to which that consent was given wasn’t made clear. It remained a question of whether America’s sovereignty lied in the people or in the elected government (Fritz …show more content…
Metaphorical expenses aside, the Revolutionary war cost a considerable amount of money that was borrowed from American citizens via war bonds, and from France. With this costly freedom and a failing government under the Articles of Confederation, the Constitution of the United States of America was born with her first president, George Washington. Washington set many precedents for American presidency and faced many challenges. One such challenge was a national debt incurred from the war. Washington still needed to prove that the United States of America under her newly ratified constitution was worthy of respect and was true to her word. Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury under Washington, had many proposals for lightening the debt load, but not all were received by Congress. [FOUR PILLAR IDEA, SUCCESSES AND FAILURE]. [WHY COUNTRY STILL IN DEBT]. Under Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, Congress has the power to “lay and collect taxes...and excises, to pay the debts and provide for the common defence and general welfare of the United States” (US Const. article I, sec. 8). In 1791, Alexander Hamilton advocated for, pursued, and established a federal excise tax on whiskey and distilleries of 25% (Vandiver 1), or about ten cents per gallon (Snyder & Hammond 454), although the exact amount of this tax per gallon varies between six cents and eighteen cents, depending on the

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