The Whiskey Rebellion

by William Hogeland

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  Lowman, Moses. Paraphrase and Notes on the Revelation of St. John. W. Baynes, 1807.

  Maclay, William. The Journal of William Maclay, United States Senator from Pennsylvania, 1789–1791. A. & C. Boni, 1927.

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  Marshall, John. The Life of George Washington. J. Crissy and Thomas Copperthwaite, 1843.

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  McDonald, Forrest. Alexander Hamilton: A Biography. W. W. Norton, 1979.

  Miller, John C. Alexander Hamilton: Portrait in Paradox. Harper and Brothers, 1959.

  Mitchell, Broadus. Alexander Hamilton. Macmillan, 1957–62.

  Morris, Robert. The Papers of Robert Morris. Ed. Edward J. Ferguson. University of Pittsburgh Press, 1973.

  Nash, Gary B. The Urban Crucible: Social Change, Political Consciousness, and the Origins of the American Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1979.

  ———. Race, Class, and Politics: Essays on American Colonial and Revolutionary Society. University of Illinois Press, 1986.

  Nelson, Paul David. “Horatio Gates at Newburgh, 1783: A Misunderstood Role,” William and Mary Quarterly 29, January 1975.

  “New Light on the Whiskey Insurrection,” The Magazine of Western History, Vol. 6, September 1887.

  Newlin, Claude Milton. The Life and Writings of Hugh Henry Brackenridge. Princeton University Press, 1932.

  Newton, Isaac. Observations on the Prophecies of Daniel and the Apocalypse. Ed. S. J. Barnett. E. Mellen Press, 1999.

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  Nixon, Michael, and Michael McCaw. The Compleat Distiller. Amphora Society, 2002.

  Noll, Mark A. A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada. William B. Eerdmans, 1992.

  Page, Elizabeth. Tree of Liberty. Rhinehart, 1939.

  Paine, Thomas. Common Sense. Rimington & Hooper, 1928.

  Pencak, William, Matthew Dennis, and Simon P. Newman, eds. Riot and Revelry in Early America. Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002.

  Pennsylvania Archives, Series 2, Vol. 4, 1896.

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  Rorabaugh, W. J. The Alcoholic Republic: An American Tradition. Oxford University Press, 1979.

  Ryerson, Richard Alan. “The Revolution Is Now Begun”: The Radical Committees of Philadelphia, 1765–1776. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1978.

  Sakolski, A. M. The Great American Land Bubble: The Amazing Story of Land-Grabbing, Speculations, and Booms from Colonial Days to the Present Time. Harper and Brothers, 1932.

  Schama, Simon. A History of Britain. BBC Press, 2001–02.

  Schoepf, Johann. Travels in the Confederation, 1783–1784. Ed. Alfred J. Morrison. Campbell, 1911.

  Selsam, J. Paul. The Pennsylvania Constitution of 1776: A Study in Revolutionary Democracy. University of Pennsylvania Press, 1936.

  Shaw, Peter. American Patriots and the Rituals of Revolution. Harvard University Press, 1981.

  Slaughter, Thomas P. The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution. Oxford University Press, 1986.

  Smiley, Ian. Making Pure Corn Whiskey: A Professional Guide for Amateur and Micro Distillers. Amphora Society, 2003.

  Smith, Helene. The Great Whisky Rebellion: Rebels with a Cause. MacDonald/Sward, 1994.

  Smith, Richard Norton. Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation. Houghton Mifflin, 1993.

  Statutes at Large of the United States, Library of Congress, http://memory.loc.gov/ammem/amlaw/lwsl.html.

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  Zobel, Hiller B. The Boston Massacre. Norton, 1970.

  INDEX

  A note about the index: The pages referenced in this index refer to the page numbers in the print edition. Clicking on a page number will take you to the ebook location that corresponds to the beginning of that page in the print edition. For a comprehensive list of locations of any word or phrase, use your reading system’s search function.

  Page numbers in italics refer to maps.

  “Act Repealing . . .” (1791), 27, 258n

  Adams, John, on Pennsylvania’s constitution, 36

  Addison, Alexander, 127, 170, 187, 224, 239, 252n, 269n

  Alamance, Battle of, 84, 182, 260n

  Allegheny County, Pa., 23, 97, 103, 106, 119, 145

  Allegheny River, 12

  Allegheny Valley, 74

  American Revolution, 22, 132

  debts of, 8, 29, 32, 40, 53, 55

  Forks area in, 15

  McFarlanes in, 151–52, 154

  R. Morris’s financial dealings in, 32

  R. Morris’s view of, 36

  Washington’s land speculations legitimized by, 139

  see also Newburgh crisis

  Ames, Fisher, 62

  Anglicans, 71, 72, 73, 75, 77–78, 79, 80

  Anti-federalists, 107, 108, 110, 137

  Apocalypse, 75–76

  Army, British:

  at Fort Pitt, 13–14

  forts in U.S. territory maintained by, 1

  Army, Continental, 28

  Army, U.S., 139

  A. Hamilton’s command of, 239

  Bower Hill defended by, 150, 151, 152

  Articles of Confederation, 37, 39

  bank, central:

  A. Hamilton’s plan for, 111, 133

  R. Morris’s plans for, 36–37

  Baptists, 74, 80


  Bear Inn, 127

  Bedford, Pa., 94, 97, 118, 165, 191, 216–17, 274n

  Bill of Rights, 219

  bills of exchange, 35

  Black, John, 156–58

  Black Act, 34

  blackfaced gangs, 14, 20–23, 27, 34, 106, 117, 132, 143–44, 180, 203

  Black Horse Tavern, 235–36

  bonds, federal, 8, 30–31, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63

  bonds, state, 38, 56

  Pennsylvania, 55

  speculators’ investments in, 61

  Bower Hill, 97, 99–100, 132, 146, 151, 262n

  first rebel attack on, 147–48, 150, 267n–68n

  second rebel attack on, 152–56, 161, 163, 165, 166, 167, 185, 197, 221, 226, 246n, 268n–69n

  Brackenridge, Hugh Henry, 11–12, 17–18, 110, 113, 122, 144–46, 149–50, 152, 154–55, 157–59, 171, 175, 176, 177, 197, 198, 204, 205, 214, 229, 233, 242–43, 267n, 269n

  A. Hamilton’s questioning of, 233–35

  appeal to Congress of, 106

  as army chaplain, 17

  article on French Revolution by, 138, 169

  as author of Modern Chivalry, 109, 115, 170, 243

  at Braddock’s Field, 173–77

  childhood of, 16–17

  eastern speculators as viewed by, 19

  election to the Pennsylvania legislature of, 106

  federal troops’ hatred of, 207–8

  Federalists in Pittsburgh disparaged by, 108, 109

  at first anti-excise convention, 23–25, 105

  in first meeting with Husband, 25–26, 71, 252n

  and Gallatin, 197, 272n

  humanity as viewed by, 11, 20

  and Indians, 18–19, 109, 229, 276n

  letter to Coxe by, 181–82, 194–95, 198

  memoir of rebellion by, 246n

  at Mingo Creek church meeting, 161–65

  National Gazette articles of, 110–12, 115, 228

  Nevilles’ campaign against, 227–33, 238, 274n

  Parkinson’s Ferry congress and, 181–82, 201–2

  Pennsylvania’s revised constitution opposed by, 110

  Presley Neville and, 100, 148–50, 180–81, 191, 233–34

  R. Morris’s finance policy favored by, 107, 108

  on rebel negotiating committee, 193, 197, 198, 200

  second marriage of, 108–9

  squatters defended by, 19

  views on western development of, 18

  vision for America of, 17, 71

  Westsylvanian secession opposed by, 16

  Brackenridge, Sabina Wolfe, 108–9, 262n

  Braddock, General Edward, 14, 98

  Braddock’s Field, 168, 169, 171, 172–76, 176–177, 180, 185, 190, 205, 220, 226, 227, 234, 235, 238, 269n

  Bradford, David, 151, 167–68, 170, 171, 178, 180, 197, 224, 227, 231–32, 238, 242, 259n, 268n

  at anti-excise conventions, 24, 123

  at Braddock’s Field, 174–76

  Brownsville speech of, 201

  escape of, 220, 227

  at Mingo Church meeting, 163, 165

  on rebel negotiation committee, 193, 197, 205

  Ross and, 171

  secessionist views of, 168

  support for Faulkner attack of, 124

  submission vote and, 202

  in Washington County democratic society, 137, 138, 151

  Washington courthouse speech of, 169

  Bradford, William, 141, 142, 144, 193–94, 237, 266n, 267n, 273n

  as A. Hamilton’s cabinet ally, 136, 199–200

  and Brackenridge 197, 232

  Findley correspondence with, 208

  military intelligence gathered by, 194

  negotiation urged by, 189

  on presidential negotiating commission, 190–94, 198, 202–3, 204

  Brison, James, 171, 172, 177

  Brison family, 101

  Brownsville, Pa., 23, 122, 200–202, 252n, 273n

  Brush Creek, 12

  Bunker Hill, Battle of, 17

  Butler, Major, 171, 176

  Canada, British troops in, 15

  canals, 5, 139, 140, 209–10

  Canonsburg, Pa., 167–68

  Carlisle, Pa., 206, 209, 210, 213, 240

  Catholics, 76

  Cervantes, Miguel de, 17

  Charleston, S.C., 99

  Chartiers Creek, 147

  Cherokees, 140

  Chesapeake Bay, 71, 72

  Chickasaws, 6

  Clymer, George, 126–28, 129, 187, 252n, 264n, 265n

  Common Sense (Paine), 36

  Concord, Battle of, 98

  congress, grand western, see Parkinson’s Ferry congress

  Congress, U.S., 57, 238

  A. Hamilton investigated by, 112, 133–136

  A. Hamilton’s reports to, 60–61, 62–64, 67

  Brackenridge’s anti-excise appeal to, 106, 110–11

  excise-enforcement law passed by, 185

  excise seen as betrayal by some in, 27–28

  excise trial rules reformed by, 142

  first taxes imposed by, 58

  Gallatin in, 170

  impost passed by, 52, 58

  Indian attacks and, 57

  militia act of, 112

  presidential war council kept secret from, 195

  rebel demands and, 195

  1791 whiskey tax passed by, 68, 70

  1792 whiskey tax passed by, 115

  Wells’s claims on, 245n

  whiskey tax petition received by, 105

  Congress, confederation:

  impost and, 37, 39, 47

  IOUs of, 38–39

  Newburgh crisis and, 44, 45–47

  R. Morris’s control of, 33

  war bonds of, 30–31

  Connor, John, 103–4, 117, 262n

  Constitution, English, 82

  Constitution, Pennsylvania, 36, 54, 59, 87, 94, 110, 122, 126, 186, 254n

  Constitution, U.S.:

  Brackenridge’s support for, 11, 108, 109, 110

  Husband’s views of, 93, 261n

  impact on populists of, 58

  Pennsylvania’s ratification of, 11, 108

  ratification of, 57, 109, 117, 126

  taxing power in, 58

  Constitutional Convention, 107, 188, 189

  Continental Army, Morris’s control of, 33

  Continental Congress, 98

  Continental paper currency, 31–32

  Couch’s Fort, 148, 149–50, 152, 155, 166, 268n

  Coxe, Tench, 181–82, 194, 198, 258n, 259n, 266n, 268n, 270n

  Craig, Isaac, 100, 101, 114, 156, 161, 163, 170, 175, 178, 185, 190, 197–98, 227–28, 245n, 262n, 275n

  creditors, 37, 186, 253n–54n

  A. Hamilton’s congressional report and, 60

  concerns regarding bonds’ stability of, 56

  Congress’s payments to, 33

  Constitutional ratification and, 107–8

  debtors’ conflict with, 33–34

  in Pennsylvania assembly, 54–55, 59, 109–10

  Washington’s suspicions of, 48

  Creeks, 140

  Cromwell, Oliver, 34

  Cumberland, Fort, 128–29, 206, 210, 216, 219

  Cumberland, Pa., 54

  Cumberland County, Va., 203

  currency, paper, 30–32, 35–36, 38

  gold standard and, 88

  taxes and, 53

  Daniel, Book of, 26, 71, 76, 77, 80, 81, 89, 90–91, 94, 259n, 260n–61n

  “Dash to the Mountains, Jersey Blue” (song), 212

  Day, Edward, 171, 172, 177

  Day family, 101

  debt, federal, 60, 61, 135–36

  A. Hamilton’s plan for, 59, 256n; see also Hamilton, Alexander, whiskey tax and

  Morris’s plan for, 38, 40, 62, 254n

  in war effort, 8, 29, 32, 40, 53, 55

  debtors, 52, 253n—54n

  creditors’ conflicts with, 33–34

  Pennsylvania politics and, 53–56

  violence of
, 52–53

  debts, state, 60, 61, 62

  Deep River, 79

  Delaware Indians, 13

  democratic societies, 137, 138, 141, 204, 213, 254n

  Democratic Society of the County of Washington in Pennsylvania, 137–38, 141, 151, 266n

  Detroit, 140

  diggers, 80, 88

  Dreadful Night, 220–21, 222

  Duer, William, 111

  duties, import, 52, 62–63

  Edwards, Jonathan, 74, 78

  Eighth Pennsylvania Regiment, 151

  England, 30

  excises, 27–28, 37, 39, 52, 62–63, 105

  see also whiskey tax

  Ezekiel, Book of, 26, 71, 76, 89, 90–91, 197

  Fairfax, Lord, 98

  farms, farmers:

  Congressional IOUs to, 38

  federal bonds and, 8

  Pennsylvania bank and, 54

  Whiskey Rebellion perpetrators and, 8

  whiskey tax and, 68

  Farrago, Captain, 109

  Faulkner, Mrs., 121–22

  Faulkner, William, 119–21, 123–24, 128, 151, 264n

  Fayette, Fort, 101, 114, 119, 127, 149, 171, 191, 262n

  arms stored at, 194

  D. Bradford’s threat against, 168

  fortification of, 169–7

  militias’ threat to, 174

  Powers held at, 226

  prisoners held at, 223

  Fayette, Pa., 23, 97, 122, 128, 170

  Federalist, The, 107

  Federalists, 57–58, 108, 141, 231

  Finance Department, confederation Congress, 33

  Findley, William, 122, 170, 201, 223–24, 262n, 263n, 273n, 274n, 277n

  as A. Hamilton’s enemy, 115, 170, 208, 214, 225, 242

  A. Hamilton’s investigation of, 225–26, 230, 233, 238

  and Brackenridge, 106, 109, 229

  excise tax reduction promoted by, 115

  excise trial reform promoted by, 142–43

  on Gallatin, 272n

  Gazette letter of, 107

  history of rebellion by, 245n

  moderation of, 170

  Nevilles’ statement against, 227

  in Pennsylvania assembly, 54, 55, 106

  U.S. Constitution opposed by, 108

  W. Bradford’s correspondence with, 208

  Washington’s and Hamilton’s meeting with, 207, 209, 214–16, 274n

  First Pennsylvania Regiment, 151

  Florida, A. Hamilton’s invasion plan for, 239

  Foreign Affairs Department of confederation Congress, 33

  Forks of the Ohio, viii, 13, 40, 105, 115, 142, 251n

  A. Hamilton’s plans for military action against, 124–25

  A. Hamilton’s views on people of, 238

  American Revolution and, 15

  first excise office in, 120