Answer: used the power of the Federal government to enforce law.
The Whiskey Rebellion was a tax protest in the United States between 1791 and 1794 during the presidency of George Washington. The "whiskey tax" was the first tax imposed by the newly formed federal government, and was intended to generate revenue for the war debt of the Revolutionary War.
Washington responded by sending peace commissioners to negotiate with the rebels, while also calling on governors to enforce the tax. The rebellion was significant because it demonstrated that the new federal government had the will and ability to suppress resistance to its laws.
