The Whiskey Tax
The American Revolution was an expensive affair for individual states that resulted in the acquisition of debts to finance the war. In 1790 Alexander Hamilton, the Treasury Secretary, wanting to assert the powers of the national government, proposed that debt should be a federal government function. He recommended a first federal internal tax on liquor to raise funds, thereby averting further financial strain.
President George Washington initially opposed the suggestion but did go through the states of Virginia and Pennsylvania speaking to citizens and state officials regarding the proposal. He was surprised to find that local government officials were enthusiastic about the idea and communicated the same to Congress, who passed a bill imposing the Whiskey Tax.
Under the new law, small producers were taxed at the rate of nine cents per gallon and large producers at six cents per gallon, with increasing tax breaks relative to the increase in production. There was an immediate protest against the law, with the small producers stating that the tax was prejudicial against the small producers and by farmers who did accept that cash was the only acceptable mode of payment for the tax.
The distillers found that whiskey was easier to transport than the raw grain. Whiskey was a form of informal currency in addition to being a source of livelihood, and many drank to tolerate the unfortunate economic reality of the period.
Whiskey Tax Violence
The law failed immediately, and the enforcement officers sent to collect the tax were attacked by producers who refused to pay. On 11 September 1791 Robbert Johnson, an excise officer in Pennsylvania, was surrounded by 11 men dressed as women who stripped him
Inevitably, violence broke out. On September 11, 1791, excise officer Robert Johnson was riding through his collection route in western Pennsylvania. He was tarred and feathered and left abandoned in the forest, and his horse was stolen. Johnson had recognised two of the men who attacked him, and on reporting them, a warrant was issued for their arrest.
John Connor, a cattle drover, was sent with the warrants but met with the same fate as Robert, left in the woods for five hours before his rescue. Johnson resigned when he heard what had happened to John to avoid further torture and humiliation.
Over the following years, there were regular attacks against excise officers with another officer named Benjamin Wells being attacked in his home. His wife and children were assaulted, and men demanded his accounting book at gunpoint. He also resigned after the incident.
Federal Marshall David Lenox with John Neville was serving summons to appear before a court to distillers in western Pennsylvania, Allegheny County who had not paid tax. In the summer of 1794. William Miller was approached by the two men but refused to accept his summons. An argument ensued, and the two men rode off, only to be met with an angry mob, who had been informed that the excise officers were dragging people from their homes.
The following morning Neville was attacked in his home by an angry mob, gunshots were fired, and Oliver Miller was killed by slaves working in Neville’s house who came to his defence. The crowd fled but returned days later demanding the surrender of Neville. In an exchange of gunshots, their leader James McFarlane was killed by soldiers who had come to protect Neville. The mob burned down part of Neville’s property.
Less than a week later, David Bradford, a wealthy landowner, incited a mob of 7,000 people using a letter from Washington asserting disapproval for the attack over Neville’s property and encouraged the men to attack Pittsburg. The city of Pittsburg officials sent a barrel of whiskey to appease the angry mob.
Washington’s Response
Washington, in response to the rebellion, ordered 13,000 troops into the areas where the militia was emerging, quelling the violent opposition against the tax. Many Americans were disgusted by the use of force, including Thomas Jefferson of the Republican Party who was the opposition at the time.
The disapproval against the tax helped build support for the Republican Party which took over from Washington’s Federalist Party in 1802.