Articles by former senior U.S. government officials predicting that the U.S. will disintegrate in 2017 are widely circulated on the Internet. Although such predictions are regarded as strange talks, they have always been spread in the market. Looking back on the history of the United States for more than 200 years, in addition to the famous Civil War, the United States has also experienced several secession crises. Separation is traditional in the history of the United States, and this is not unrelated to its constitution. The Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was originally intended to protect the powers of the states, but it is often interpreted by separatists as “the power left by the states to leave the Union as always”. When the three states of Virginia, New York and Rhode Island signed the constitution, A clause was also added: If this new government becomes oppressive, they can withdraw from the Federation.
The turmoil caused by the “whiskey tax”
At the beginning of the founding of the United States of America, the first President Washington adopted an important financial measure to pay off the national debt, which is to impose a “domestic consumption tax” on whiskey. Whiskey is mainly produced in western Pennsylvania. Due to the inconvenience of transportation, the wheat must be transported to eastern cities and towns after being brewed into wine. In the eyes of these small producers, the government’s tax on liquor is to extract money from them.
In July 1794, people’s long-standing anger finally turned into a violent action. Farmers in four counties in western Pennsylvania burned the house of Neville, the tax collector, destroyed the wine-making tools of farmers who consciously paid taxes, captured the guards of Neville’s residence, destroyed the Pittsburgh post office, and prevented a federal court trial. . On August 12, the insurgents convened a meeting and someone put forward the slogan of attacking Pittsburgh. The angry crowd also imitated the practice of the War of Independence, erected a memorial pillar symbolizing freedom, and printed a banner “Whiskey! Freedom, no taxes”. These slogans resounded throughout Pennsylvania. At Parkinson’s Ferry, more than 200 representatives gathered to discuss armed resistance and separation from the United States of America.
At that time, rumors abounded that Spanish envoys and western explorers instigated independence among immigrants from Kentucky and other states. After receiving the report, Washington immediately thought of the peasant uprising that occurred in Massachusetts eight years ago. Therefore, he feared that the resistance movement would spread from the poor rural areas of Maine in the north to Georgia in the south, and worried that the rumors would confuse people. As a result, Washington issued a notice in the name of the president, ordering the insurgents to return to their homes before September 1. On the same day, Secretary of the Army Henry Knox ordered the recruitment of militias from Pennsylvania and other states. At the end of August, an army of 13,000 people marched into western Pennsylvania.
After the militia was called up, Washington took the lead in the riot area. There was no fighting during the quelling of the chaos, but Washington’s tough performance directly demonstrated the power of the new government. This was also the first time the federal government used the army to maintain local order since the promulgation of the federal constitution. Later, for safety reasons, Washington returned to Philadelphia and his right-hand man, Hamilton, urged a crackdown. As a result, when the federal army moved in, the “Whiskey Riot” disappeared.
Vice President Burr Treason Case
Alan Burr was the vice president of President James Jefferson’s first term (1801 to 1805) and a hero of the American Revolution. Due to partisan struggles, Burr began to make plans during his tenure as vice president. In 1804, Burr failed to run for the governor of New York, and his political opponent Hamilton issued a series of slanderers during the election. When Hamilton did not apologize for these remarks, Burr proposed a duel. As a result of the duel, Hamilton was injured and killed. Burr himself was accused of murder in New York and New Jersey. Sharp criticism and accusations from all sides made his political career in the eastern United States come to an end, but he is still very popular in the west and south.
After leaving office in 1805, Burr contacted the British ambassador to Washington, Anthony Merrie, and promised to “plan a split in the western United States.” The asking price was 110,000 pounds and the British sent a fleet to the mouth of the Mississippi to support him. Britain did not agree to his plan, but Burr continued to act. Burr tried to separate Louisiana (a place that had changed hands between Spain and France several times, and the United States bought it from France in 1803) from the United States and established an independent country under his own leadership. There has been no shortage of separatists.
Burr secretly joined forces with the army of General James Wilkinson, who was the governor of Louisiana appointed by President Jefferson, but secretly worked for Spain. In 1806, they effortlessly recruited a small force in a place on the upper Ohio River. Burr then led the sergeants down the river and sailed to New Orleans. However, for unknown reasons, Wilkinson betrayed Burr at the last minute, and President Jefferson sent US troops to control most of Burr’s ships and equipment.