Farmers and business owners rebelled against taxes imposed by governments without representation throughout American history. The Sons of Liberty rebelled against British taxes in 1765. Shays' Rebellion in 1786 and the Whiskey Rebellion in the 1790s involved farmers rebelling against state and federal taxes. While representation issues drove the early rebellions, later unrest also stemmed from governments targeting the working class to pay debts. Rebellions highlighted divisions and influenced political changes like the US Constitution.

1. “Wait, wait, wait… Hold up!”

2. What does all this mean?

3. The Break Down
Son’s of Liberty Shay’s Rebellion Whiskey’s Rebellion
• Group of shopkeepers • Led by farmer and • Farmer led rebellion 1791-94
rebelling against the revolutionary vet Shay • Occurred during the presidency of
Stamp Act in 1765 Daniel in 1786 George Washington
• Violent demonstration • Farmers rebelled • Farmers who sold their corn in the
against tax distributors against taxes imposed form of whiskey were forced to
• Shopkeeper were by legislatures under pay a taxes as part of Alexander
upset that they were the confederation Hamilton’s (treasury of state) plan
being taxed by British • Protesters brought up to gain revenue to pain off the
parliament with no arms, shut down national debt
representation buildings, and stirred • Farmer felt singled out although in
• A major pressure things up this situation, under the
contributing to the • One of the major constitution, they had
need of the colonies to pressures to invest in a representation.
serparate from Britain centralized government • Buildings were burned and tax
(F&I war) (doing away with the distributers were intimidated
• Confederation is confederation) and to • George’s army was summoned to
drawn up as a security draw up the keep the peace
device constitution in 1787

4. Common Trends
In many situations, such as the ones cited
on the previous slide, farmers and business
owners were exploited by the government
who had intentions repay national debts.
Taxation without representation posed a major
issues within the colonies and the independent
states. i.e. The Sons of Liberty were shopkeepers
rebelling against taxation by British Parliament. In
Shay’s rebellion, taxation under the
confederation was deemed constituted as well.
However…
The Whiskey Rebellion presented itself as the most complex. While heavy
taxes were levied against farmers, the taxation was indeed constitutional,
as each state had two representatives who voted on the cause. So, as the
representational aspect of the famers’ unrest was taken care of, their
displeasure with the concentrated aims of legislatures to single the
working class out bubbled to the surface.

5. Why Should I Care?
Well, the trend of American rebel groups standing up against decisions
employed by the government, whether they are constitutional or not, have
served to create disunity within the nation. It appeared to be an effective
method that started early on while America was still viewed as the colonies.
Seeing as Britain often times responded in favor of the unrested rebels , it
became the way in which they sought to have their voices heard. It got the a
revolution, did it not? Nevertheless, it has been proved to be a founding
principle by which many radical groups still abide by. As well, the common
culture of the government to solely implement taxes on the working class
served to drive a stake through the heart of the country, separating and
cultivating resentment amongst the working class.
Oh wait… that just sounded like a major
influence on the big picture question!

6. To Wrap This Up…
• Farmers and working class who voted for the Constitution
believed that it would protect them from taxes
• The Constitution was not a cure-all for US government
• Post constitution rebellions were very similar to the
rebellions before independence
• Rebellions created huge divides within the country
• Rebellions so far, up until Whiskey’s Rebellion, marked
drastic political changes

7. Works Cited
The Whiskey Rebellion." PBS. 2000. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande22.html>.
Ushistory.org. “The Sons of Liberty.” The Declaration of Independence. 4 July. 1995. Web. 23 September. 2011. < http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/related/sons.htm
"The Whiskey Rebellion." PBS. 2000. 19 Oct. 2011. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/duel/peopleevents/pande22.html>.
SUS Department of Education. "Bottling Up The Whiskey Rebellion." Cartoon. Cartoon_4_Whiskey_Rebellion. 2009:
<http://www.google.com/imgres?q=george+washington+whiskey+rebellion&hl=en&biw=1024&bih=564&gbv=2&tbm=isch&tbnid=8qsnBve5W-
V48M:&imgrefurl=http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/presidents/washington_lp.htm&docid=0l3fvLxKy6V7DM&imgurl=http://www.dlt.ncssm.edu/presidents/Lesson_Plans/Washingt
on_Lesson_Plans/Political_Cartoon_LP/Cartoon_4_Whiskey_Rebellion.JPG&w=3072&h=2304&ei=5NioTsPbDIPiiAKI2Z2WBg&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=263&sig=11839889211406
8648958&page=1&tbnh=163&tbnw=217&start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&tx=144&ty=22>.
Aster Chin, Bob Henry, and Jim Gaul. Touchstone Companion to US History. 1. Seattle: Lakeside High School, 2011. 29-30. Print.
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