Whiskey Rebellion - Mingo Creek Church - Western PA. - Political Revolutions on Waymarking.com

The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 is regarded as one of the first tests of federal authority in United States history and of the young nation's commitment to the constitutional rule of law.

The Whiskey Rebellion, or Whiskey Insurrection, was a tax protest in the United States beginning in 1791, during the presidency of George Washington. Farmers who sold their grain in the form of whiskey had to pay a new tax which they strongly resented. The tax was a part of treasury secretary Alexander Hamilton's program to pay off the national debt.

On the western frontier, protesters used violence and intimidation to prevent federal officials from collecting the tax. Resistance came to a climax in July 1794, when a U.S. marshal arrived in western Pennsylvania to serve writs to distillers who had not paid the excise. The alarm was raised, and more than 500 armed men attacked the fortified home of tax inspector General John Neville. Washington responded by sending peace commissioners to western Pennsylvania to negotiate with the rebels, while at the same time calling on governors to send a militia force to suppress the violence. With 15,000 militia provided by the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, Washington rode at the head of an army to suppress the insurgency. The rebels all went home before the arrival of the army, and there was no confrontation. About 20 men were arrested, but all were later acquitted or pardoned. The issue fueled support for the new opposition Democratic Republican Party, which repealed the tax when it came to power in Washington in 1801.

The Whiskey Rebellion demonstrated that the new national government had the willingness and ability to suppress violent resistance to its laws. The whiskey excise remained difficult to collect, however. The events contributed to the formation of political parties in the United States, a process already underway. The whiskey tax was repealed after Thomas Jefferson's Republican Party, which opposed Hamilton's Federalist Party, came to power in 1800.

Casualties and losses
3–4 insurgents killed. 0–1 soldiers killed in action. about 12 died from illness or in accidents
2 civilians accidentally killed by government troops

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Marker Text:

This area has been called the cradle of the Whiskey Rebellion. Here in the 1790s, a log Presbyterian meetinghouse stood near the site of the present church. Used by the Mingo Creek Society after its formation in February 1794, it became a nerve center for protest against the whiskey excise tax. Society members were active in militia musters held on these grounds; some are now buried in the churchyard.

Name of the revolution that the waymark is related to: Whiskey Rebellion against the whiskey excise tax Adress of the monument: SR 88 & Mingo Church Rd 2 miles S of FinleyvillePA What was the role of this site in revolution?: On 23 July, 1794, leading radicals held an inflammatory meeting at Mingo Creek Presbyterian Church. Prior to the church though, meetings were held under a large oak tree. The 250 year old tree didn't last and was carved into a statue to commemorate the spot. Link that comprove that role: [Web Link] When was this memorial placed?: 03/04/1994 Who placed this monument?: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

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