Juan Vazquez
U.S. History 1301:S70
Mr. Isaac G. Pietrzak
November 2, 2018
The Whiskey Rebellion
Slaughter, Thomas P. The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution New York: Oxford University Press Inc., 1986.
The Whiskey Rebellion: Frontier Epilogue to the American Revolution is a great book that has information over the main reasons of the newly federal government deciding to impose the “whiskey tax” on a domestic product. The Whiskey Rebellion marked the first large-scale resistance to a law of the United States government under the Constitution and represented the first exercise of the internal police powers of the president. It was also long considered the most significant event in the first quarter-century of the new nation.
When President George Washington ordered an army of 13,000 men to march west in 1794 to crush a tax rebellion among frontier farmers, he established a range of precedents that continues to define federal authority over localities today. Thomas P. Slaughter recaptures the historical drama and significance of this violent episode in which frontier West and cosmopolitan East battled over the meaning of the American Revolution. Slaughter provides a thorough overview of the Whiskey Rebellion, he also covers the effects of the battle and what came after the decision was made. Slaughter not only offered one of the broadest and most comprehensive concept of the Whiskey Rebellion ever written, taking into account the political, social and intellectual contexts of the time, but he also challenged conventional understandings of the Revolutionary era.
Thomas P. Slaughter has a very clear purpose in this book and never loses sight of intent throughout the book. Slaughter succeeds admirably in his goal of bringing this episode in frontier history to center stage in American history. The story of the Whiskey Rebellion has previously been told from the top down, the bottom up, and from the frontier perspective.
Thomas P. Slaughter interpreted this book very clearly and he provided the best analysis to date of the causes and the internal dynamics of the rebellion. For someone who was not alive during the time of the Whiskey Rebellion, Slaughter is know many facts about the event and that is why he has the best interpretation of the book with an up to date analysis.
The author makes many connections and contextualization between the Whiskey Rebellion and the attack on Fort Pitt. He talks about when some 7000 western Pennsylvanians threatened the residents of Pittsburgh, feigned an attack on Fort Pitt and the federal arsenal there, banished seven members of the community, and destroyed the property of several others.
Thomas P. Slaughter uses some secondary sources in his book. For example there are many quotes from many different people, like many quotes from Robert Penn Warren, and Slaughter also quotes many others like Patrick Henry and Thomas Scott.
In my opinion, this style of this book is very well written and it is not very confusing or complex to understand. It has a lot of stuff about the Whiskey Rebellion that I did not know which made me feel more informed on the topic. I feel like anyone could understand this book, historian or non-historian, because of the way it is written.
As for the critical observation, Thomas P. Slaughter does a very well job answering any unanswered questions I have. He does not lose sight of his motive throughout the book so he does a well job keeping his argument and making his points from the start of the book to the end.
The authors background is very professional because Slaughter was someone who was very educated. Thomas Paul Slaughter is Associate Professor of History and Henry Rutgers Research Fellow at Rutgers University. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland, received his Ph.D from Princeton University and is a resident of Newtown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. Knowing this, I know that he is very educated on his topic which makes him very reliable and someone who knows what they are talking about.
In conclusion, this book is a great read if you want to know mostly all there is to know about the Whiskey Rebellion and who was involved in all the events that occurred. It was written by someone who definitely knows what they are doing and what they are talking about and I highly recommend reading it.