The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest that started in 1791. George Washington was the US President during that time. Western farmers were using their left over corn and grain to make whiskey and when the government found out, they started to make them pay taxes for it. The revolution against unfair taxes was fresh in the American memory and some of the same patriots who fought the king were ready to fight for their right of free trade once again. Their first answer to that new “tax law” was not paying. Then later on, they started to protest. The American working class has always said “No taxation without local representation!”
By 1794 George Washington was half way through his two term Presidency as he personally led a military expedition against the whiskey rebels to let the American people know who was boss. It set a precedent that American taxes could not be avoided and strong leadership would be required in times of crisis. This reversed the trend set by the Boston Tea Party and Shays Rebellion in the previous decades.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande22.html
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/641925/Whiskey-Rebellion
I think people were justified to get mad about the unfair excise tax on whiskey. The government was basically abusing the people by getting paid for the peoples hard work. What services were the mountain pioneers making whiskey actually receiving from the government taxes they were forced to pay? The Whiskey rebellion only benefited the central government because it gave them more power over the people.
The taxes rates were high and even higher for poor people. I don’t understand why the government charges poor people more compared to the rich; they are the ones who need the most help from the government but seem to get the least amount of “tax breaks”. Poor people always end up paying more for everything, is it fair?