The Profitability of Whiskey Production in 1790s America

In the 1790s, farmers in America found that turning grain into whiskey was highly profitable, as grain sold for a few cents a bushel while whiskey sold for a dollar a gallon. This practice was particularly lucrative in remote areas like the Magahala Valley in Pennsylvania, which were inaccessible to British tax collectors due to their remoteness. However, President Washington and Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton imposed an excise task on whiskey in 1794, leading to resistance from tax collectors and others in western Pennsylvania.