As Leftists Riot, Trump Should Look To Washington And The Whisky Rebellion For Inspiration.
While Donald Trump famously does not drink, alcohol has always played a role in American life, usually ancillary but occasionally central. He could take a lesson from an early instance where it played a central role and how it was handled by our greatest president.
During and after the Revolutionary War, America’s economy was a wreck as the prices of products it exported—fish, lumber, tobacco, and cotton—collapsed with the removal of the British market. It’s estimated that between 1774 and 1790, the economy declined by 41 per cent.
The country ended the war heavily in debt. The federal government owed $54 million, and the states together owed an additional $21 million. During the war, both tried to print their way out of their difficulties. It didn’t work.
The Whiskey Rebellion, attributed to Frederick Kemmelmeyer. Public domain.
Even after the war, under the Articles of Confederation, there was no relief as the federal government was weak, and the states saw themselves as competitors in many economic matters.
In 1787, the Founding Fathers met in Philadelphia and hammered out the Constitution that we still use today. It created a stronger central government, but one that still had difficulties with finances. And that’s where the alcohol comes in.
In 1791, Congress passed the “Whiskey Tax,” which was an attempt to raise funds to pay off the debt run up during and after the war. This per-gallon excise tax was levied on domestic whiskey, a product many farmers, particularly western farmers, produced from their excess grain.
The western farmers were unhappy because most were small producers and, unlike the large eastern producers, they couldn’t use efficiencies of size to minimize the impact, which made their offerings relatively less competitive. At the same time, the tax had to be paid in specie (gold and silver coins), something that was rare in the entire nation and particularly so in the west. Finally, due to the lack of a viable currency, many workers in the west took whiskey as their pay, which was now taxed!
All this combined to create a storm we call the Whiskey Rebellion. By 1794, tempers were flaring in the west, and outbreaks of violence began, involving a few thousand people across the west.
Finally, that July when 500 armed men set a western Pennsylvania tax collector’s home fire, George Washington decided it was time to act. He sent negotiators to see if they could negotiate a solution. But he didn’t dither to see whether negotiations would work. Simultaneously, he requested militia from the states and then personally led the 13,000-strong army to face the troublemakers. T
The negotiations failed, but with the prospect of facing an overwhelming force led by the Commander in Chief, the “rebels” faded away before Washington even arrived. There was no confrontation, and when all was said and done, four rebels died, and there were two casualties among civilians.
Some of the leaders were roused from their beds in the middle of the night, marched barefoot through the mud and the rain, and held in animal pens on their way back to Philadelphia. Then, “The captured rebels were paraded down Broad Street being ‘humiliated, bedraggled, [and] half-starved…” Eventually, 150 men were arrested, 20 were tried, and two were convicted and sentenced to death, but given that one was charged with simple battery and the other with theft, Washington eventually pardoned both.
The newly formed federal government had shown that it had both the means and the will to enforce federal law and hold those responsible accountable. Washington’s focus on assuring a robust response on issues involving a clearly defined federal power set a precedent that survives to this day. In principle, that is. In practice, at least as it comes to immigration, not so much.
Donald Trump should look to the precedent that George Washington set and act accordingly. Washington utilized state militias to quell the violence. He not only had the people directly involved in the violence arrested, but he also had others who facilitated it arrested as well. Although Washington did not have to use his 13,000 troops in actual combat, the fact that he had them and demonstrated his willingness to use them was sufficient to end the insurrection.
Trump should do exactly the same thing. When local authorities won’t or can’t stop the violence, Trump should immediately deploy the National Guard. In addition, he should put rioters on notice that the soldiers are not there to exchange pleasantries. For this he could and should use the words of Sheriff Wayne Ivey of Brevard County, Florida: “If you throw a brick, firebomb or point a gun at one of our deputies, we will be notifying your family where to collect your remains at, because we will kill you, graveyard dead.” Trump should be unambiguously clear that violence towards law enforcement, citizens, and property will not be tolerated.
At the same time, like Washington, Trump should identify the people who are behind the violence. The people paying for the signs. The people paying anarchists to go out and riot. The people paying for bricks and rocks to be conveniently located near hot spots. The people paying for the masks and other riot gear.
Most of those identified won’t actually be individuals. As DataRepublican (small r) has demonstrated, American taxpayers are inadvertently funding much of this via NGOs facilitated by Democrats and the rest of the swamp. These leftist, Communist, anti-American organizations are, under the guise of “charity,” fueling a real insurrection and invasion of the United States.
And Trump should be ruthless. These people, particularly the people behind the scenes, are far more dangerous to America than any external enemy. They have academia, the media, and half the ruling class on their side. This is where the rubber hits the road. They should spend decades in prison and emerge penniless, with whatever assets they have seized to pay for the damage they inflicted on the country.
Instead of dialing things back as he quizzically just announced, Trump needs to turbocharge his response and let it be known that the federal government will not tolerate a violent insurrection. Washington harnessed an army of 13,000 to demonstrate his intent to restore order when the population was under 4 million. With 350 million, I’m sure Trump can find the men to demonstrate his point.
He should be prepared for a Kent State-like episode, or many of them, and be prepared to stand his ground. The reality is, if he does not quell this, we will have another Summer of Love like 2020 with its consequent aftermath.
And what is that aftermath? A bloodbath. Take the murders in the three years following the BLM rioting of 2014. After declining for a decade, in three years, murders would climb 26% nationwide, resulting in at least 8,000 more murders than would have otherwise been seen. Then, after the “Summer of Love” in 2020, the year ended up with a 32% jump in murders in a single year, adding another 5,000 murders than would have been expected. That’s a lot more blood than Kent State.
So, Donald Trump’s job as president is not to placate the leftist, anti-American communists and anarchists who seek to abet this invasion, sow discor,d and delegitimize, destabilize, and ultimately derail his presidency. But this is not about Donald Trump. It’s about America and the American citizens who voted to take back their country. It is they to whom he needs to answer, not those who oppose him simply because he seeks to make America America again.
Follow Vince on X at @ImperfectUSA.
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