Whiskey Rebellion
Congress issued a new federal tax on whiskey and the stills that produced it. The first formal meeting of those who opposed the whiskey tax took place in July at Fort Redstone in Brownsville, Pa. (one year before this was the formation of West Bethlehem Township).
Farmers (who distilled their excess grain into whiskey) and distillers took to the streets in a violent protest. The tax was a way for Congress to pay off the interest on federal debt during the American Revolution. The protestors believed the tax was unfair; thus, the Whiskey Rebellion began under the presidency of George Washington, who opposed the tax.
The protests intensified over four years. Washington responded by sending in 12,000 soldiers to confront the rebels. This event was the government's first opportunity to establish federal authority by military means within state boundaries. The rebellion ended in 1794 (Washington died four years later of a throat infection).
Today, your whiskey has a federal and state tax. This event showed us that citizens who band together to form a militia to protect themselves from oppression would be met with resistance by their government by whatever means. In 1791 it was guns and cannons; today, it's military drones, nuclear bombs, and much more.
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