The first time, a mob of people forced their way in and assaulted Wells’ wife and children. In 1793, the home of Pennsylvania excise officer Benjamin Wells was broken into twice.

Incidents escalated over the next few years. In response, Johnson resigned his post, fearing further violence. He was tied to a tree in the woods for five hours before being found. A cattle drover named John Connor was sent with the warrants, and he suffered the same fate as Johnson. He made a complaint and warrants were issued for their arrest. The mob stripped him naked and then tarred and feathered him before stealing his horse and abandoning him in the forest. On September 11, 1791, excise officer Robert Johnson was riding through his collection route in western Pennsylvania when he was surrounded by 11 men dressed as women. Some producers refused outright to pay the tax. Excise officers sent to collect the tax were met with defiance and threats of violence. The law was immediately a failure since refusals to pay the taxes were as common as intimidation against the officials hired to collect them. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment. Small producers, however, were stuck with paying nine cents per gallon in taxes. Under the new law, large producers paid the tax annually at a rate of six cents per gallon, and the more they produced, the further the tax breaks. Local government officials met the idea of a whiskey tax with enthusiasm, and Washington took this assurance back to Congress, which passed the bill.īut protests against the new tax began immediately, arguing that the tax was unfair to small producers. In 1791 Washington journeyed through Virginia and Pennsylvania to speak with citizens about their views. President George Washington was opposed to Hamilton’s suggestion of a whiskey tax.

He also suggested an excise tax on whiskey to prevent further financial difficulty. In 1790, Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pushed for the federal government to take over that debt. During the American Revolution, individual states incurred significant amounts of debt.

Whisk and whiskey