Chat
|
Daily Search
|
My GenForum
|
Community Standards
|
Terms of Service
|
|
|
I forgot to post this in my first message this is the Bio for the books author and his connection to the events:
Henry Marie Brackenridge (1786-1871)
HISTORY OF THE WESTERN INSURRECTION IN WESTERN PENNSYLVANIA,
COMMONLY CALLED THE WHISKEY INSURRECTION. 1794.
Printed by W.S. Haven, Pittsburgh: 1859
pp. xiv, [15]-336. Dampstain on the corners of some leaves. 8vo. 22.5 cm. Original publisher's cloth binding, stamped in blind. Manuscript ownership of: "Alexander Hay / Oct. 19th 1859" with his notes and inserts.
Issued, in some part, to defend his father's support of the Whiskey Rebellion participants. Brackenridge includes: 'The History of the Insurrection in the Four Western Counties of Pennsylvania' by William Findley; and his father's important work, 'Incidents of the Insurrection'. Howes B-685; Sabin 7166.
Hugh Henry Brackenridge (1748-1816), was born in Scotland, but emigrated to America and graduated in Theology at Princeton in 1771. He in the American Revolution as a chaplain. Later he turned to law; and wrote some patriotic plays and verse. In 1781 he moved to Pittsburgh, where he founded (1786) the city's first newspaper, the 'Pittsburgh Gazette'. He also helped to establish the Pittsburgh Academy (now the University of Pittsburgh). A leading Pennsylvania supporter of the federal Constitution, Brackenridge later acted (1794) as a peacemaker in the Whiskey Rebellion. From 1799 to his death he served as a Justice of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. He is also well known for his satirical novel, 'Modern Chivalry' (1792-1805), where he pictures backwoods life in America and ridicules the excesses of a raw democracy.
His son, Henry Marie Brackenridge, was admitted to the Pennsylvania bar in 1806. He later moved to St. Louis, where he was a lawyer and journalist. His important early writings include: 'Views of Louisiana' (1814); and a pamphlet. 'South America' (1817), which puts forth a policy similar to the Monroe Doctrine. Sent to South America to study political conditions, he recounted his experiences in a 'Voyage to South America' (1819). His 'Recollections of Persons and Places in the West' (1834) is also a valuable historical resource. This defense of his father's Whiskey Rebellion actions was his last great work.
The Whiskey Rebellion of 1794 is a major moment in American history. It was an uprising in the Pennsylvania counties West of the Alleghenies, caused by Alexander Hamilton's 1791 excise tax on whiskey. The (mainly) Scotch-Irish settlers of the region who shipped their rye grain in the form of whiskey, resented the tax as discriminatory and detrimental to their liberty and economic welfare. They held many public protests, demonstrations, and even tarred and feathered the excise collectors. Rioting broke out in 1794 against the central government's continued efforts to enforce the law. President Washington was concerned that region might separate from the new union. He sent 13,000 militia men to Pittsburgh to crush the rebellion. This force (larger than any commanded by Washington during the Revolution) quickly quelled the rioting, and resistance evaporated. Nevertheless, Hamilton sought to make an example of the settlers and illustrate the newly created government's power to enforce its laws. General Robert Philson, Harmon Husband, and about 16 other protesters were arrested. Husband and Philson were taken to Philadelphia where they were to tried and convicted of treason. In 1795 President Washington pardoned them, but the central government's power to enforce its laws had been proved. The lesson lasted over sixty years. The next contest was not so easily resolved.
Notify Administrator about this message?
Followups:No followups yet |
| http://genforum.genealogy.com/canon/messages/222.html | ||
 |
Link to GenForum Add Forum |
|