Why Crushing The Whiskey Rebellion Was So Important

The Whiskey Rebellion and its aftermath proved that the lawless tax riots that occurred before American independence would not become normal in the new American republic.

Historians differ on why the American colonies revolted. But most of the Founders — Thomas Jefferson notwithstanding — didn’t believe the United States should be a perpetually revolutionary nation.

Violent unrest plagued the colonies after independence, prompting the Founders to create the Constitution from the weaker Articles of Confederation.

The Whiskey Rebellion, however, proved that constitutional reform alone did not guarantee an end to violent unrest.

At some point, rabble-rousers had to be forced to beat their swords into plowshares.

Congress’s excise tax on spirits that went into effect in 1791 became known as the Whiskey Tax because it fell heaviest on western farmers. Many on the frontier used whiskey as a medium of exchange. Some small farmers relied on their stills more than their fields to keep their standard of living above subsistence.

In response to the tax, residents around Pittsburgh practiced civil disobedience that often turned violent. Federal tax collectors couldn’t collect the tax because they lacked the necessary force. Furthermore…