Making Whiskey in Western Pennsylvania
Homemade Spirits Threatens the Peace of the New United States
After the French and Indian War, settlers traveled over the Alleghany Mountains in Pennsylvania and settled in the Fort Pitt area, later called Pittsburgh. Other settlers, mainly the Scotch-Irish, would settle in Washington County, south of Pittsburgh. By the 1790s, the Pittsburgh area had a population of one thousand.
Soon the farmers were raising various grains with rye being the most lucrative of the crops because it is used to make whiskey. The farmers realized that hauling twenty-four barrels of rye over the steep and treacherous Allegheny Mountains would take three pack animals and only turn a profit of six dollars. It was not worth the effort or the risk of traveling on the mountains, so the farmers turned to making whiskey. It was much easier and more profitable to carry two kegs over the mountains with only one pack animal and turn a profit of almost sixteen dollars.
Purpose of the United States Constitution
The Revolutionary War brought a lot of debt to the new nation and although the Federal Government had the Articles of Confederation to follow there were several flaws in the document.
One of the major flaws was the fact that the federal government could not enforce taxation laws and therefore, relied on the states to pay the bills sent to them by the national treasury. Unfortunately, several states ignored the bills.
In order to begin to fix the flawed system the same people who wrote the Articles of Confederation are now writing the United States Constitution. The main purpose of the Constitution is as follows:
- power of government and making sure there is no compromise of freedom for the citizens of the United States
- f the legislature, executive, and judicial branches of government
- and balances of each branch against the other
- individual liberty and a balance between authority and liberty.
The Constitution officially went into effect on March 4, 1789 giving Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of Treasury, the legal rights he needs to design a financial plan that if passed can be enforced.
A Financial Plan to Get Out of Debt
The Treasury Secretary submitted his financial plan to Congress, which included an excise tax on whiskey production, and was passed on March 3, 1791. When western settlers heard of the passing of the tax they became irate.
A revised tax bill was passed in May 1794, which required a central excise tax office be opened in every county and require the distillers to register their stills. If their stills were not registered and they were caught producing whiskey they would have to forfeit their stills, pay a $250 fine, and travel to Philadelphia for a hearing.
The distillers in the west considered the tax unfair due to the fact they would be hit harder with the tax than those in the east because it was more challenging for them to sell their whiskey because of the difficulty in transporting it plus farmers ran the majority of the stills. Whereas the distilleries in the east were larger, ran by established businessmen, and the whiskey was much easier to transport.
Fire in the Hills of Pennsylvania
In 1794, the Federal Government hired General John Neville of Virginia to supervise the tax collection in the western counties of Pennsylvania. There he would buy a large tract of land in Washington County, build a home, and call it Bower Hill. Neville was from the elite class, a successful distiller, and the example of why the excise tax for western distillers was wrong.
As the days passed and Neville pursued registering stills and collecting taxes he became a large target of the Mingo Creek Association, which was a group of people who were determined to have the excise tax removed.
In July of 1794, Marshal David Lenox west to assist General Neville in delivering summons to the distillers who were in contempt of the tax law. Word spread and soon the two men came under attack. Neville escaped to Bower Hill while Lenox made his way to Pittsburgh.
Later that night, led by Oliver Miller, Jr. and James McFarlane, a militia of approximately 500 men surrounded Bower Hill. The militia was met by armed slaves and soldiers sent by the federal government. Shots rang out and Bower Hill was set on fire. By morning, Bower Hill was smoldering and McFarlane and Miller was dead.
Ending the Whiskey Rebellion
On September 25, 1794, President George Washington sent 15,000 troops to western Pennsylvania to put an end to the insurrection. There was no public violent resistance against the troops.
The result of the insurrection was 150 men taken to Philadelphia, 23 of them tried, 2 found guilty and later pardoned by President Washington.
Sources:
Hogeland, William. The Wiskey Rebellion NY, Simon & Schuster, Inc. 2006.
Miller, Randall M. & Pencak, William. Ed. Pennsylvania: A History of the Commonwealth. State College, PA, Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.
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