US History

U.S. History Study Guide

8.12 The Whiskey Rebellion In 1794, Western Farmers refused to pay the excise tax on whiskey, which formed the backbone of Hamilton’s revenue program. When a group of Pennsylvania farmers terrorized the tax collectors, President Washington sent out a federalized militia force of some 15,000 men causing the rebellion to evaporate, thus strengthening the credibility of the young government. Land Policy As the original thirteen states ceded their Western land claims to the new federal government, new states were organized and admitted to the Union, thus strengthening the ties of the Western farmers to the central government (Vermont, 1791; Kentucky 1792; and Tennessee, 1796 all became states) 8.13 Washington's Farewell Address (1796) Washington's Farewell Address was a direct response to the fractioning of the American people. He pleaded for American political neutrality, that citizens not be driven to choose between political alternatives, but rather take their leaders on the basis of merit and reputation. He further pleaded for international neutrality, exhorting Americans to ward off "political association" with Europe, hoping such evidence would remove the divisiveness of foreign policy from the American political dialog and allowUS leaders to focus on domestic destinations. While he could not halt the rise of political parties, which had already become a fact of American political life. Some Main Points of Washington’s Farewell Address: • Federal government is important: "The unity of government... is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence... of your tranquility at home, your peace abroad; of your safety; of your prosperity; of that very liberty which you so highly prize." • Warns against the party system: “There is an opinion that parties in free countries are useful checks upon the administration of the government, and serve to keep alive the spirit of liberty. This, within certain limits, is probably true; and in governments of a monarchical cast patriotismmay look with indulgence, if not with favor, upon the spirit of party: but, in those of the popular character, in governments purely elective, it is a spirit not to be encouraged. • Stresses the importance morality: "Where is the security for property, for reputation, for life, if the sense of religious obligation deserts the oaths, which are the instruments of investigation in Courts of Justice?" • Importance of public credit: "...cherish public credit. One method of preserving it is to use it as sparingly as possible...avoiding likewise the accumulation of debt....it is essential that you...bear in mind, that towards the payments of debts there must be Revenue, that to have Revenue there must be taxes; that no taxes can be devised, which are not...inconvenient and unpleasant..." • Stay out of foreign wars: "It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world..."

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