What was an exception to the reasons The Whiskey Rebellion was significant?

Answer 1

The full question is:

What was an exception to the reasons The Whiskey Rebellion was significant

A the rebels were acting in the tradition of the Patriots of 1765 and the shaysites of 1786 only now they also waved banners proclaiming the French Rev slogan Liberty Equality Fraternity

B Washington used force to put down the first strong challenge to the federal government's authority in order to make and enforce a law

C suppressing the revolt Washington deterred secessionist movements on the frontier

D Washington publicly broke with Thomas Jefferson who covertly supported the insurgents and precipitated open party conflict

The tax had cut the demand for the corn whiskey the farmers brewed and bartered for eastern

manufactures. Like the Sons of Liberty in 1765 and the Shaysites in 1786, the Whiskey Rebels

assailed the tax collectors who sent the farmers' hard-earned money to a distant government.

But the protesters also waved banners proclaiming the French revolutionary slogan

"Liberty, Equality, and Fraternity!" To deter popular rebellion and uphold national authority,

President Washington raised an army of 12,000 troops and dispersed the Whiskey

Rebels. - Henretta, James A. and David Brody. America: A Concise History, Volume I: To 1877. 4th ed., Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. chapter 7 page 200

Answer 2

The hotbed of The Whiskey Rebellion occurred in Washington County, Pennsylvania, with David Bradford one of its leaders. David Bradford was an attorney, so therefore one of the more wealthy and prosperous citizens of Washington, PA. He and his family lived in a small house on South Main Street which was also part of the Underground Railroad; the house still stands and takes public tours through it. (I used to volunteer there to do reenactments of their way of life.)

When people migrated from eastern Pennsylvania, settlers had to cross the main Appalachian Mountains and a smaller chain, The Allegheny Mountains, before finally arriving in southwestern PA (about 1.5 hours from the northern West Virgina border to the south, and about an hour east of the WVA panhandle and the Ohio border). Back in the days of the settlers, they only had walking-hunting trails the Indians made along mountain ridges. Often, these trails were only 1-person wide; 2 people could not walk side by side.

Settlers in SW PA had no ports to the Atlantic Ocean. They could ship by flat boats, but it was time-consuming. Settlers could not make all their goods, either. As three examples, settlers needed tea, sugar, and fabric for clothes. These all came from Britain by ship to eastern colonies--up to the mountains.

At the same time, settlers had to pay for what they needed. SW PA was primarily a corn, wheat, oats, and barley agriculture, along with milk cows, sheep (sheep did well on rocky terrain with rolling hills), hogs/pigs, and chickens.

But transporting crops or animals back across the mountains was treacherous even in summers and could only be carried out on pack animals, each following the other one another. But they walked along cliffs-- one hoof-slip and all the animals went over the side of the mountain! Men were injured; many died.

Growing corn served two important functions. First, it provided human and livestock food. But more importantly, people back east loved their whiskey. Some of the first occupations in SW PA, besides teacher, preacher, lawyer, and farmer were Stills-- whiskey producers. Corn could be easily turned into mash to make liquor! And secondly, it was easier to load wood casks on a horse, mule, donkey or ox to transport the whiskey back over the mountains! It was ingenious! And it brought good money.

But, alas, the government wanted to tax whiskey! Farmers did not like this news. They revolted. It was a "rebellion" that challenged the new government, for certain. And the settlers, emboldened from other demonstrations against the British, were more than happy to protest. So the government was not happy. Whether George Washington liked it or not, he had to stop the rebellion. If not, other protests could break out against our new nation. "Washington used force to put down the first strong challenge to the federal government's authority in order to make and enforce a law." The farmers were not happy, not at all. They were forced to accept a tax, like it or not, just like they were forced before to pay British taxes.

But even after the full rebellion was squashed, farmers still operated Stills and men still carried whiskey on pack animals across the mountains. But it became harder to find buyers; the tax was exacted in the east at points of sales. Soon, it became easier to farm a variety of crops and pay the tax if they wanted to sell whiskey.

Note: The Whiskey Rebellion was an important point in a small-town like Washington, PA. This "settler spirit" remained strong throughout its history, where men fought in militias from before the Revolutionary War. Washington, PA---referred to as "Little Washington" to distinguish it from Washington DC--led the fight to unionize bituminous coal mines across 5 states, and was later the site of one of the most notorious murders of a Union boss in the mid-1900s. Washington County PA citizens have always tried to fight for what is right, even at great costs to themselves and their families. The Whiskey Rebellion is but one example of this feisty settler attitude.