Whiskey Act

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The Whiskey Act was a U.S. federal law passed by the 1st Congress on March 3, 1791, upon the recommendations of Alexander Hamilton, then treasury secretary. It was enacted in accordance with the four economic initiatives embarked by Hamilton at the start of the Washington administration, namely, paying federal debts owed during the Revolutionary War to states and individuals, introducing the Hamilton tariff, creating the First Bank of the United States, and finally levying an excise tax (one that influenced this law). It was passed on the second last day of the 1st Congress. The popular reaction, though, was extremely negative. It was seen by many as a throwback to the era of the Stamp Act, when taxation was made without any participation of the representatives. Still remembering the Shay's Rebellion, several Pennsylvania liquor farmers living on the western frontier who were directly affected by the act started to plot a fresh rebellion. The Whiskey Rebellion, which took place in 1794, shook the Washington administration. An order to suppress the insurrection, under the authority of the Militia Act of 1792, was given and the rebellion was soon put down. This event set a precedent in the new nation that any law passed by Congress can only be changed through constitutional means.