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Art & History

The 1791 Excise Whiskey Tax

January 27, 1791

After  a spirited debate, the House passed, by a 35 to 21 majority, the Excise Whiskey  Tax—legislation that proved wildly unpopular with farmers and eventually precipitated  the “Whisky Rebellion.”  The measure levied  a federal tax on domestic and imported alcohol, earmarked to offset a portion  of the federal government’s recent assumption of state debts.  Southern and western farmers, whose grain crop  was a chief ingredient in whiskey, loudly protested the tax. In 1794, farmers  in western Pennsylvania  attacked federal officials seeking to collect tax on the grain they had  distilled into whiskey.  The  administration of President George Washington  dispatched a force of 13,000 militia to put down a feared revolt.  Resistance, however, dissipated when the  troops arrived.

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Office of History and Preservation, Office of the Clerk, http://clerk.house.gov/art_history/highlights.html?action=view&intID=268, (December 07, 2010).

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Office of History and Preservation
(202) 226-1300
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President George Washington served as a Member of the First and Second Continental Congress before accepting the commission as Commander of the Continental Army.   Oil on canvas, John Vanderlyn, 1834, Collection of U.S. House of Representatives

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Ceremonies in the House
Ask students to locate highlight dates for three different House ceremonies. Use each of these dates to explain the functions of the House outside of the normal legislative day.

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