Whisky Rebellion

Cultural  

1. An insurrection that broke out in the early 1790s in western Pennsylvania. Hundreds of residents took arms against federal officials charged with collecting a tax on liquor distilled at home. Federal troops then put the rebellion down. Occurring only a few years after the adoption of the Constitution, the Whisky Rebellion was an important test of the power of the new federal government to enforce its laws.

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Whisky Rebellion

Americans have been historically disorderly in their response to leadership: a Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia had its counterpoint in a Whisky Rebellion in the backwoods.

From Time Magazine Archive

Washington did not let his qualms about state sovereignty keep him from reaching into Pennsylvania to stamp out the Whisky Rebellion.

From Time Magazine Archive

Whisky Rebellion Cardhu is on the rocks with the Scotch Whisky Association.

From Time Magazine Archive

They were in a fair way to nullify the law in whole districts when Washington called out the troops to suppress "the Whisky Rebellion."

From History of the United States by Beard, Charles A. (Charles Austin)

Between 1790 and 1800 there were two serious uprisings against the new Government: the Whisky Rebellion of 1794 and Fries's Rebellion five years later.

From John Marshall and the Constitution; a chronicle of the Supreme court by Corwin, Edward Samuel