The Whiskey Rebellion (1794) demonstrated that

Core Concept

The Whiskey Rebellion was a protest by western farmers against a federal excise tax on whiskey. When the protesters used violence to resist tax collection, President Washington responded by sending a militia force of nearly 13,000 men to suppress the rebellion. This action demonstrated that the new federal government established by the Constitution had both the authority and the power to enforce its laws, a significant improvement over the weaker government under the Articles of Confederation.