Famous Whiskey Rebellion in Western Pennsylvania. A large mob with tarred-and-feathered tax collector riding on a rail. 1794
Posted on 04/30/2014 11:17:16 AM PDT by Jim Robinson
The tense standoff at the Cliven Bundy ranch in Clarke County, Nevada tapped into a wellspring of government distrust that dwarfed Bundy's specific situation. A comparable event from just over 200 years ago, the “Whiskey Rebellion,” suggests the government's efforts to quell small pockets of insurrection like Bundy and his allies can easily cause more political problems than they're worth.
Although the 1794 incident was at a vastly larger scale than the standoff in Bunkerville, Nevada, the situations share important parallels including the use of what many people in each situation considered the disproportionate use of force by the government.
In Bundy's case, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is demanding that Bundy remove his family’s herd of cattle from federal land, due in part to the presence of tortoises, and claims he owes them $300,000 in grazing fees. Bundy claimed he would do “whatever it takes,” to keep using the land, denied the authority of the federal government, and said that his stand is “a statement for freedom and liberty and the Constitution.” While few question the federal government’s legal right to the land, many view it as government overreach and wonder about federal priorities elevating tortoises over human beings.
In response, a veritable army of hundreds of federal officers and helicopters arrived and began rounding up Bundy’s cattle, intentionally killing several of them. Following a four-day standoff in which both the federal agents and Bundy supporters had trained snipers on each other, the federal government abruptly backed off, at least for now.
BLM has come under fire for aggressive tactics across the West. Texas Attorney General said of the BLM’s plan to seize 90,000 acres of land along the Texas/Oklahoma state line “out of bounds” and “offensive.” Abbot said he would “raise a ‘Come and Take It’...
(Excerpt) Read more at breitbart.com ...
Washington’s response to the Whiskey Rebellion was NOT one of his noblest moments.
Come And Take It.
Note that the Whiskey Tax was repealed ~7 years after the Rebellion.
Excellent article, Jim. Excellent. Entirely applicable to the BLM and Cliven Bundy. Entirely applicable to today’s federal and many nanny-state governments. Another reason to respect Thomas Jefferson. I’ve added the term “Watermelon Army” to my vocabulary.
The protestors attacked a man in his own home and burned his house down for daring to enforce the laws that Congress passed.
The organizers were leftist scum who were trying to recreate the French Revolution in the USA.
When Washington showed up to restore order, the cowards scattered.
The Whiskey Tax was a gov’t overreach and soon repealed.
You don’t know your history.
Many involved in the Whiskey Rebellion were not fans of the French Revolution as you maintain.
My family was in the Western Pennsylvania area when this happened. Not entirely sure if they were involved or not, but I highly suspect so.
Google the Rev. John Corbly and then come back and tell me that he was a “leftist.”
Thanks Jim. Will read this one later.
It was hardly "overreach" - it was necessary to pay war debts so that the US could build its international credit.
It was repealed seven years later, largely because Kentucky and Tennessee had joined the Union by then and they were against the tax.
You understand what was going on: Congress did not want to pass an income tax (which everyone opposed), or a tariff (which agrarians especially opposed), and so settled on an excise which eastern agrarians could live with.
Western Pa. objected to a targeted tax.
Frankly, after Shay I think the government was looking for a chance to set an example.
I don't agree with you sir, as to either of those assertions.
Another facet of the whole story that I found interesting when reading about it a while back was that making whiskey was basically the most efficient way of bringing your crop to market. Farmers on the frontier were producing large amounts of grain, but lacked any way to transport it in bulk, so turning it into whiskey made it a much more convenient form.
You're not really qualified to judge, given what follows.
Many involved in the Whiskey Rebellion were not fans of the French Revolution as you maintain.
Sorry, but contemporary accounts of the March on Pittsburgh - by far the largest gathering of Whiskey Rebels - show it was led by David Bradford, an admirer of Robespierre.
At the largest meeting of the Whiskey Rebellion leadership where they drafted their resolutions, the convention was led by Bradford and Herman Husband, another advocate of Jacobinism.
the Rev. John Corbly
Corbly did not have Bradford's status in the movement. He was one of the ones who turned tail, but Washington pardoned him.
The historical record is clear.
Bradford was a radical and a supporter of the Jacobins.
- how many were terminated from employment?
- how many were imprisoned?
- was restitution every ordered for the 'taking'?
- why has BLM continued to operate in this manner?
someone needs to check with Clair and find out what time it is...
Isn’t it strange that that range used to accommodate 54 ranches and now it can’t even handle one!?! Must be some really lousy Land Management going on there.
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