The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in 1791 during the
presidency of George Washington. It is also known today as the Whiskey
Insurrections. This “whiskey tax” was actually the first tax that the
government of America imposed on a domestic product. It angered the farmers
because in these regions, whiskey was also used as a medium of exchange of
goods. It was formed by the federal government and eventually became a law in
1791. The goal was to generate revenue to help reduce national debt and was
applied to all distilled spirits. Whiskey back then was the most famous
distilled beverage in the US and the excise tax that was added to it was known
to have greatly contributed to funding the war debt during the American
Revolutionary War.
