Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Whiskey Rebel Pardons Of 1795...!

You might know that the first ever presidential pardon came from ol' George Washington himself!

Seems that George had a pretty good head on his shoulders most of the time. I think he tried to avoid conflict most of the time, and concentrated on finding a peaceful way to solve problems. I reckon he was just plain tired of fighting, ya know?


Whiskey Rebellion

The first ever act of presidential forgiveness came in the wake of an armed rebellion. Fed up with a costly federal tax on distilled spirits, in 1794 a group of whiskey-producing Pennsylvania farmers took to the streets and burned the home of a local tax inspector. The attack came on the heels of several other protests and many politicians—most notably Secretary Alexander Hamilton—argued that it threatened the stability of the newly formed United States.

Faced with the possibility of a widespread uprising, President George Washington reluctantly marched a 13,000-strong militia into western Pennsylvania to quell the rebellion. Some 20 members of the mob were arrested, and two were convicted of treason and sentenced to death by hanging. Desperate to avoid further discontent, Washington chose to pardon both men in July 1795.

Some presidents go through their whole terms without issuing any pardons at all. Some give pardons that remain very controversial even to this day! Guess you can't please everyone, right?

Guess we better have our coffee in the kitchen this morning. Rain is coming this way again!

9 comments:

Chickenmom said...

Marching on politicians homes and offices sounds like a good idea to me! Coffee in the kitchen is fine - I'll bring fresh apple pie for all.

linda m said...

Maybe if the politicians would quit taxing the crap out of people we wouldn't feel we have to march on their homes and offices. Definitely coffee inside this morning - very warm and muggy here. I'll bring some fresh WI cheddar cheese for the apple pie.

JO said...

Well I guess he did what he had to do. But yes the tax problem has been an issue for a very long time.

I'll sit in the kitchen with everyone. Coffee and apple pie the cheese sounds good too.

Mamahen said...

I can think of a few politicians I would like to see this happen to....save me a seat in the kitchen....and some of that apple pie n cheddar mm-mmm :))

Dizzy-Dick said...

Where do I join the march? There is no grain alcohol in my house, but just because we don't use it doesn't mean that there should be a law against it.

Unknown said...

Public Servant-A person who holds a government position by election or appointment Politician - crook

Dragon said...

After looking for around a bit, I was amazed that how much history was missing in the reports of the whiskey rebellion era. The towns of Gastonville, Funleyvlle, Hackett, and Venitia are totally ignored though their citizens comprised the majority of the rebellion. Notably "Tom the Tinker" was a life long resident of Gastonville. He is buried at the Mingo Presbyterian church cemetery. One fact remains to confound the "scholars". That since that time no body distills rye in washington county. Jefferson repealed the stamp tax, but to late for the poorer distillers of grains. Though corn is still distilled by a few practitioners of the art. Westmoreland county is still looked upon as the enemy. Even families are still shunned because of the non-support or betrayal of family members against the rebellion. Mountain folks got long memories and hold grudges even now after 200+ years.

HermitJim said...

Hey Phyllis...
Non-violent marches don't seem to work any more! Recent actions show that troops will still be sent in areas where marches might occure!

Fresh pie sure sounds good to me!

Thanks for coming over this morning!



Hey Linda M...
Some fresh cheese sure sounds like a winner for the pie!

The PTB will only raise taxes, not make them lower. It's a habit with them, I reckon!

Thanks for coming over this morning!



Hey Jo...
Taxes have caused many a fight all through our history. I don't reckon it will ever change!

Thanks, sweetie, for stopping over!



Hey Mamahen...
Guess we could all add a few names to the list!

Better hurry! The pie is going fast!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Dizzy...
I think we all feel about the same way! A lot of history like this seems to get lost over time!

Thanks for coming by today!



Hey Stick...
That about says it all!

Thanks for the visit today!



Hey Dragon...
I wonder if ol' George taxed his own brew? He must have made some, right?

It's strange to me how so many little actions like this are left out of the history books! Don't want to give anyone ideas, I guess.

Thanks for coming by today!



Dragon said...

Old George owned a bunch of land that became Perryopolis Pa and in 1774 had a grist mill constructed there. The construction was completed in 17176 due to the revolution and indian troubles. He never did operate the mill; instead he leased the property to a Col. Shreve, Like many grist mill owners, Shreve built a distillery next to the mill in 1790. Locals are strangely quiet where the owners and operators stood on the tax issue. The main thing about the tax ruckus was that rich farmers could pay a flat fee and make hundreds of gallons from their grain while the small farmer had to pay as much as 9 cents a gallon for their small amounts of whiskey distilled by small part time operations. In those days converting the grain was the only way to ship it. History, it seems is a strange bird.