American settlers living on the frontier of Western Pennsylvania rose against the tax policies of the federal government in 1794. The Whiskey Rebellion was their violent reaction to the excise tax decided upon by secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton. It was a tax on distilled spirits. The measure was a fiscal tool to get money by a government that faced huge debts following the Revolutionary War.
After the hardships of Valley Forge, the American Revolutionary Army was stronger, prouder, and better trained AND it brought the French into the war on the Revolutionary side.
