Anti-Excise Meetings
Throughout the three years (1791-1941), multiple meetings were held to try repealing the law affecting so many farmers and their businesses. Protesters rebeld for “equal taxation” which focused on a direct land tax, the most common form of wealth in early America. These rebels were not opposed to taxation but opposed to “unequal taxation.”
The First Meeting: The First Major An†i-Excise meeting was held in Western Pennsylvania at the Green Tree Tavern in Pittsburgh in September 1791. "Delegates from four Western Countries drafted and signed a remonstrance to Congress" (Vanessa Williamson, P.8). The Green Tea delegates wrote a remonstrance to Congress laying out their opposition to the excise tax as they felt it would fall heavily on the hardworking and poorest class. The Delegates argued that the tax improperly harmed smaller-scale farmers and distillers along the frontier. The Delegates also believed that this excise tax-favored larger distillers located in urban areas because they could afford to meet the guidelines of this tax as they could pass off this extra cost to their customers.
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The Second Meeting: A second meeting was held the following year, resulting in a broadside displayed throughout the Western counties. Again, the Delegates reaffirmed their opposition to the excise tax, reiterating their belief that this direct tax was unjust and "oppressive upon the poor." "More fundamentally, though, the excise was also a problem because it “operates in proportion to the number and not to the wealth of the people.” The correct basis of taxation, the delegates believed, was wealth" (Vanessa Williamson, P.9). The Delegates expressed their worry that the taxation went against the principles of the American Revolution, particularly the right to oppose taxation without fair representation and consent.
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The Third Meeting: The last meeting was held in August 1794, when 260 delegates met and called for equal taxation to replace the whiskey tax. The Delegates declared“a repeal of the excise law, at the same time requesting that a more equal and less odious tax may be laid” (Vanessa Williamson, P.9). This last meeting marked a significant escalation in the opposition to the Whiskey tax, as tensions in Western Pennsylvania reached a boiling point during what would come to a climax in the Whiskey Rebellion.
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What Does the Whiskey Rebels Mean By "Equal Taxation?" Tax proposals usually were focused on a direct land tax, the most common form of wealth in Early America. This sometimes included special tax breaks for undeveloped land held by speculators. Whiskey Rebels protested for "Equal Tazation," as they advocated for a system of taxation that distributed the financial burden plan fairly across all social and economic groups. they felt the excise tax on whiskey disproportionately targeted specific regions, industries, and economic classes - small-scale distillers and farmers, rural, and especially those in regions like Western Pennsylvania.
1Vanessa Williamson, "The Whiskey Rebellion and the Fight for Equal Taxation in Early America," Senior Fellow, Tax Policy Center, December 15, 2021, https://taxpolicycenter.org/sites/default/files/publication/164031/frontier_tax_resisters_demand_more_progressive_taxation.pdf, Accessed November 27, 2024