Whisky Insurrection
Preserved but no longer current.
A riotous outbreak in Western Pennsylvania, in 1794, in protest against the excise laws on spirits. In the country districts many small stills were worked by private persons, and when the excise officers attempted to deal with these, they were repulsed with violence and organized resistance. President Washington sent the militia to repress this outbreak and enforce the law, and the insurrection was put down without bloodshed.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Whisky Insurrection” mean?
A riotous outbreak in Western Pennsylvania, in 1794, in protest against the excise laws on spirits. In the country districts many small stills were worked by private persons, and when the excise officers attempted to deal with these, they were repulsed with violence and organized resistance. President Washington sent the militia to repress this outbreak and enforce the law, and the insurrection was put down without bloodshed.
Is “Whisky Insurrection” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.