Everything Everywhere Daily The Whiskey Rebellion (Encore)
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Aug 15, 2025 The podcast delves into the Whiskey Rebellion, a pivotal event that threatened the young United States. It uncovers how tax burdens on Western settlers sparked armed resistance against the government. The discussion highlights Alexander Hamilton's Whiskey Tax as a key factor in the conflict, testing federal authority against frontier dissatisfaction. Listeners will learn about the repercussions of this rebellion on national stability and fiscal policies of early leaders.
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Debt Shaped Early Federal Power
- The new United States carried enormous Revolutionary War debt that shaped early fiscal policy.
- Alexander Hamilton argued assuming state debts would strengthen federal power by requiring taxation and revenue systems.
Whiskey Tax Intended As Low-Profile Revenue
- Hamilton proposed an excise on distilled spirits to generate revenue and believed producers, not consumers, would shoulder the tax.
- He viewed an alcohol tax as a benign 'sin tax' that would fund debt repayment without broad public backlash.
Whiskey As Frontier Currency
- Frontier economies converted grain into whiskey because it was far easier to transport and had higher value per weight.
- Whiskey functioned as currency on the frontier and underpinned subsistence barter systems.