The Whiskey Rebellion 1791 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Whiskey Rebellion 1791 - Essay ExampleCongress agreed and President Washington chose to buck Henry Knox as the Secretary of War, Thomas Jefferson as the Secretary of State, and Alexander Hamilton as the Secretary of the Treasury. The appointment of Jefferson and Hamilton would later have a great regard as the two had conflicting views about the future role of the American establishment. It was Hamiltons goal and responsibility as Treasurer in this new government to curtail or eliminate the massive debt incurred by the Revolutionary war. Hamilton was a very smart individual. He devised and implemented several strategies in dictate to reduce the national debt and provide stability to the American economy (Henretta , n.d.). Overall, his policies worked very well and the nation prospered as the debt was paid down. However, his fiscal policies divided the government and the people into perspicuous groups with opposing political views, those who sided with Hamilton and those who supported Jeffersons small government views. One of Hamiltons policies included an excise tax on spirits in order to pay the interest on the national debt. This tax did not sit well with western Pennsylvania distillers whose main source of income was the production and sale of whiskey (Whiskey Rebellion, n.d.).