How did the Whiskey Rebellion change peoples perception of federal laws in the United States?
Under Hamilton, an excise was imposed on whiskey amounting to 25 percent of the product’s retail value, effectively erasing all of the farmers’ profit. Moreover, anyone accused of evading the tax had to go at his own expense to Philadelphia for trial. Western Pennsylvania farmers were particularly incensed because they seemed to be the main targets of the tax, as it was not evenly enforced in all areas. In July 1794, the Whiskey Rebellion broke out as farmers declared their defiance of the law and rioted against tax officials, burning buildings and even calling for secession from the United States. President Washington promptly ordered the militaries of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and New Jersey to march against the rebels. Opposition quickly evaporated against this combined force of almost 13,000 men. Of the 150 arrested, only two were actually convicted of treason, and Washington later pardoned both of them. The point had been clearly made, however: Federal law was to be obeyed
