Whiskey Rebellion

Pennsylvania tax rebels tar and feather a federal tax collector during the Whiskey Rebellion, Pennsylvania, 1794. The Whiskey Rebellion was a reaction to the excise tax of 1791 introduced by Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton. Settlers in Pennsylvania counties west of the Alleghenies, who were mainly of Scotch-Irish descent, relied on whiskey for their livelihood and considered the tax to be discriminatory. Protests and eventually riots broke out in 1794 against the enforcement of the law. The rebellion was quashed by troops issued to the area by President George Washington and several arrests were made.