During the colonial era, American whiskey was considered a low-brow tipple, one relegated to mountain folk of the frontier beyond population centers along the East Coast. But following the Revolutionary War, whiskey was thrust into the forefront of the American experiment—causing an early confrontation whose reverberations continue to be felt today.
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And people ask if American troops would fire on citizens. lol - living right outside of Ft. Hood me and my buddies have had this discussion plenty of times. In case you haven't guessed yet the answer is Yes.
ReplyDeleteHere is another story about Washington and whiskey concerning his celebration of the imminent signing of The Constitution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM3iB0i2Crs
ReplyDeleteStory was that they sent one wave of tax collectors into Kentucky and Tennessee. They couldn't find anyone brave or stupid enough to make up a second group.
ReplyDeleteGreat story and history lesson. We covered this in school but is was just a couple of paragraphs in a three inch thick volume. As with most history taught, even back then, teachers concentrated on the dates of the events and glossed over the substance and any back/side stories like what gave bourbon it's distinct flavor and how the product was used as a medium of exchange due to lack of hard cash.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Nemo
I hope he follows up with the next installment as promised.
The thing that amazes me is that it is *still* a federal crime to make your own whiskey at home. It became legal to make wine with respect to federal law in 1979, and legal in all states in 2013, and legal to make beer at home in 1978 (federal), with the last two holdout states making it legal in 2013 (Alabama and Mississippi). But, you still can't distill it for drinking legally. You can legally buy or make a still, but you have to be using it for the production of "essential oils" (without a permit) or ethanil for fuel (which requires a federal permit). It's crazy -- and it's all about taxes.
ReplyDeleteSo the new govt. issued script, which was used to buy things locally for the troops. The newly formed govt said they would make good on the script.
ReplyDeleteThen the newly formed govt said they could not make good on it. So the shookeepers sold the script for 10 cents on the dollar. Better than nothing, right?
Friends of the new leaders gathered up all that cheap script, and then presented it to Washington, and got paid full face value for it.
The new govt could not be trusted. Shopkeepers, and others, started to use whiskey in place of the new US currencies.
The new US govt., fearing that the could not collect a tax on homemade shine, made the distilling of whiskey illegal.
Couldn’t trust them back then, either!
Seems g-g...g'grandad settled in east KY hill country (and changed his name a bit) back about then when on the lam from the goings-on in PA. Got some family still up in those hills. Go up when the shades are in the wrong position ... like to get shot. Maybe only to wound if family. Personally I don't bet on it. But with an invite? Smooth stuff, goes down way too easy; best not get a hangover though.
ReplyDeleteIt's dark back up in those hills. Copperhead Road type country. Quiet tales of some not coming out. Boogeyman tales for the kids? Maybe.
Guv started crackdowns before 1800.
American troops would be only too happy to shoot American citizens. Can go home for dinner afterwards.