18. Organized in opposition to a federal tax on domestically produced whiskey to pay down the national debt, the Whiskey Rebellion was suppressed by Washington himself when he rode against the Pennsylvania insurgents
Beginning in 1791, the Whiskey Rebellion, also known as the Whiskey Insurrection, was a protest during the presidency of George Washington against the imposition of the first federal tax upon a domestic product. Intended to raise revenues to finance repayment of the $54m of debt accrued during the Revolutionary War, as well as $25m of state government debt, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton proposed the consolidation of these debts into a single obligation to be addressed with an excise duty. Targeting a luxury item in an effort to mute resistance, farmers of Western Pennsylvania, who often supplemented their incomes via small stills, were particularly affected.
Organized under Major James McFarlane, a veteran of the Revolutionary War, resistance to the tax measure grew until, in 1794, federal officers arrived in Pennsylvania to serve writs against distillers failing to pay their dues. Prompting a group of five hundred men to attack the tax inspector’s home, Washington sent peace negotiators to buy time whilst simultaneously calling in the state militias. Riding himself at the head of an army, Washington led a force of 13,000 soldiers against the Pennsylvania rebels. Fleeing in the face of overwhelming odds, the rebellion was ended but resistance and non-payment continued to undermine the objectives of the tax until repeal under President Jefferson.