The Whiskey Rebellion

When President George Washington ordered an army of 13,000 men to march west in 1794 to crush a tax rebellion among frontier farmers, he established a range of precedents that continues to define federal authority over localities today. The "Whiskey Rebellion" marked the first large-scale resistance to a law of the U.S. government under the Constitution. This classic confrontation between champions of liberty and defenders of order was long considered the most significant event in the first quarter-century of the new nation. Thomas P. Slaughter recaptures the historical drama and significance of this violent episode in which frontier West and cosmopolitan East battled over the meaning of the American Revolution. The book not only offers the broadest and most comprehensive account of the Whiskey Rebellion ever written, taking into account the political, social and intellectual contexts of the time, but also challenges conventional understandings of the Revolutionary era.

A gripping and sensational tale of violence, alcohol, and taxes, The Whiskey Rebellion uncovers the radical eighteenth-century people’s movement, long ignored by historians, that contributed decisively to the establishment of federal authority. In 1791, on the frontier of western Pennsylvania, local gangs of insurgents with blackened faces began to attack federal officials, beating and torturing the tax collectors who attempted to collect the first federal tax ever laid on an American product—whiskey. To the hard-bitten people of the depressed and violent West, the whiskey tax paralyzed their rural economies, putting money in the coffers of already wealthy creditors and industrialists. To Alexander Hamilton, the tax was the key to industrial growth. To President Washington, it was the catalyst for the first-ever deployment of a federal army, a military action that would suppress an insurgency against the American government. With an unsparing look at both Hamilton and Washington, journalist and historian William Hogeland offers a provocative, in-depth analysis of this forgotten revolution and suppression. Focusing on the battle between government and the early-American evangelical movement that advocated western secession, The Whiskey Rebellion is an intense and insightful examination of the roots of federal power and the most fundamental conflicts that ignited—and continue to smolder—in the United States.

Addison Holmes is a diamond in the rough, though she’s feeling more like a big lump of coal. Teaching history in Whiskey Bayou, Georgia isn’t exactly the most exciting job. Until she finds her principal dead in the parking lot of the seedy gentleman’s club. When Addison finds herself out of a job, she turns to her best friend, Kate, who owns the McClean Detective Agency. Addison is a natural at the job. Living in a small town has given her all the skills she needs to spy on other people and pass silent judgment. Sometimes being nosy has its advantages. When her principal’s murder reveals more Whiskey Bayou secrets than people are comfortable with, the suspect list grows longer than Addison’s arm. Fortunately, the detective in charge seems more than capable of finding the killer and driving her crazy at the same time. "Fans of Stephanie Plum are going to love Addison Holmes." “An entertaining, fun read.” “This book is hysterical. It’s a true comedy of errors…A perfect summer read… lighthearted and funny” ”I haven’t read a book this funny since the first few Janet Evanovich books… A definite recommendation for everyone.” The Addison Holmes Series Whiskey Rebellion Whiskey Sour Whiskey For Breakfast Whiskey, You're the Devil Whiskey on the Rocks Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Whiskey and Gunpowder Whiskey Lullaby

America, 1787. Ethan Saunders, once among General Washington’s most valued spies, is living in disgrace after an accusation of treason cost him his reputation. But an opportunity for redemption comes calling when Saunders’s old enemy, Alexander Hamilton, draws him into a struggle with bitter rival Thomas Jefferson over the creation of the Bank of the United States. Meanwhile, on the western Pennsylvania frontier, Joan Maycott and her husband, a Revolutionary War veteran, hope for a better life and a chance for prosperity. But the Maycotts’ success on an isolated frontier attracts the brutal attention of men who threaten to destroy them. As their causes intertwine, Joan and Saunders–both patriots in their own way–find themselves on opposing sides of a plot that could tear apart a fragile new nation.

"Goes down nice and smooth."-- The Pittsburgh Quarterly A short and accessible history of rye whiskey's founding, floundering, and current flourishing in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This book takes the reader

The study covers the counties of Allegheny, Greene, Washington, Bedford, Somerset, Westmoreland and part of Fayette.

"The fight over taxation wasn't just a part of the American Revolution. It continued after the war was resolved. When the federal government placed a tax on whiskey in 1791, farmers in Pennsylvania, who depended on selling whiskey to make ends meet, were outraged. They took up arms and attacked federal tax collectors. President George Washington used several tactics to quell the insurrection. The full story of the Whiskey Rebellion, as it was called, is recounted in this volume, along with discussion of its repercussions on domestic policy. Young historians will especially appreciate the vivid images of the incident and those involved."