What was the whiskey tax?
Then, why were farmers angry about the whiskey tax?
In 1790 Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton pushed for the federal government to take over that debt. He also suggested an excise tax on whiskey to prevent further financial difficulty. Farmers took further issue because only cash would be accepted for tax payment.
Beside above, why did Hamilton create the whiskey tax?
Hamilton had proposed the tax on distilled spirits to raise revenue to pay down the national debt. It had soared after the federal government assumed debts incurred by states in the Revolutionary War as part of the grand bargain that led to the adoption of the U.S. Constitution.
The calling of the militia had the desired effect of essentially ending the Whiskey Rebellion. By 1802, then President Thomas Jefferson repealed the excise tax on whiskey. Under the eye of President Washington, the nascent United States survived the first true challenge to federal authority.