Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handout and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resource for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their graphic organizer, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • What challenges did the United States have in the years immediately following the Revolutionary War?
  • Explain the purpose and impact of taxation.

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of author Brady Crytzer talking about why the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion uprising in western Pennsylvania in response to a government tax on liquor is not widely studied. Direct your students to answer the related question on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: A Gray Area (1:32).

  • Based on the clip, how significant was the Whiskey Rebellion?
  • What is “difficult to say” about the Whiskey Rebellion?
  • How do we “like” our history?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, how does the Whiskey Rebellion ‘challenge’ us?

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage.

  We recommend having your students complete the activity in a jigsaw format to save time. Or, depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students engage in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student is responsible for completing one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson.

  Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• BACKGROUND

  Direct students to the Background section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following three video clips that provide background information about life in 1740s-1780s Pennsylvania. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: 1740s Pennsylvania (3:20).

  • According to Brady Crytzer, when did the Whiskey Rebellion actually begin?
  • Describe the “diversity” of Pennsylvania in the 1740s.
  • Based on the clip, who were the Scots-Irish and why did they come to the New World?
  • What did the Scots-Irish experience upon arriving in Pennsylvania, and where did they ultimately settle? Why?

• Clip #3: The Seven Years’ War (2:33).

  • What “broke out” in the 1750s?
  • With whom did France make “strategic alliances” in western Pennsylvania, and how did this impact the Scots-Irish people?
  • How did the Scots-Irish defend themselves, and what “intense understanding” did they develop?
  • Were the Scots-Irish “anti-government?” Explain.

• Clip #4: Life in the West (4:10).

  • What did Alexander Hamilton “know” about the Scots-Irish people in western Pennsylvania?
  • What office was Hamilton the first to hold and what “problems” did he face?
  • Why did Hamilton have a “keen interest” in the west, and why did he not like the people who lived there?
  • What was the “cheap economic engine” of western Pennsylvania? Explain.
  • Why did the economy of western Pennsylvania not align with Hamilton’s “vision for America?”

• GROWING UNREST

  Direct students to the Growing Unrest section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following three video clips that detail the creation of the Whiskey Act and related responses to the new taxation. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #5: The Whiskey Act (5:01).

  • Based on the clip, what was the First Report on the Public Credit (1790)?
  • What was the “Whiskey Act” designed to do?
  • What was considered “the west” at this time, and what was the status of Pittsburgh?
  • For what reasons were people in the west “put off” by the new whiskey tax, and what specifically “was a bridge too far?”

• Clip #6: Three Factions (6:02).

  • How did “moderates” approach the new tax on whiskey?
  • Based on the clip, who were William Findley and Albert Gallatin and what roles did they play?
  • How did Alexander Hamilton and Congress respond to the moderates’ efforts, and what factions then began to “emerge?”
  • According to Brady Crytzer, who was Robert Johnson, what happened to him, and who was responsible?
  • Explain the significance of the historical episodes of Johnson and Robert Williams, as discussed in the clip.

• Clip #7: Leading to the Rebellion (6:10).

  • By 1792, what was Alexander Hamilton “petitioning” President George Washington to do?
  • Why was 1793 “a terrible year,” and why did the western Pennsylvania farmers feel that they were being ignored?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, how did the Washington administration try to enforce the whiskey tax and why did these efforts focus on western Pennsylvania? Explain.
  • Based on the clip, who was John Neville, what was his background, and how was he viewed?
  • According to Crytzer, why did people condemn Neville?

• REVOLT AND REBELLION

  Direct students to the Revolt and Rebellion section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following five video clips that explain the events and aftermath of the Whiskey Rebellion. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #8: The First Shots (2:27).

  • What began to “go out” in 1794, and how were they “necessarily prejudicial?”
  • Based on the clip, what role did John Neville and David Lenox have?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, what happened when Neville and Lenox reached William Miller’s home?
  • What “scary scene” followed?

• Clip #9: Battle of Bower Hill and Radicalism (4:23).

  • Based on the clip, what happened when John Neville returned to his home?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, who was Oliver Miller and what happened to him?
  • Summarize the events of the “second day” at Bower Hill. Why was it a “powerful moment?”
  • Who was David Bradford, and how did he “escalate” the Whiskey Rebellion?
  • Detail what occurred during Bradford’s “big moment,” and what became clear to President George Washington.

• Clip #10: Washington’s Response (2:05).

  • Who did President George Washington “call upon” for assistance?
  • Based on the clip, what did Washington do for the first and only time in American history?
  • Who was the “true commander” of the expedition?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, what was the outcome of the expedition?

• Clip #11: Punishment and Aftermath (2:48).

  • Why was there no great “showdown” during the Whiskey Rebellion?
  • How was the military expedition a “police action?” Explain.
  • Based on the clip, what happened to most of those who were arrested? Why?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, what happened to the 30 individuals who were kept under arrest?
  • Who were “sentenced to hang” for their actions, and what happened to them?

• Clip #12: Trading Whiskey (2:17).

  • Where was the “market” for whiskey distillers from western Pennsylvania?
  • What was the “challenge” for the whiskey distillers?
  • Based on the clip, what treaties were signed shortly after the Whiskey Rebellion ended?
  • According to Brady Crytzer, how might history have been different if the treaties were signed earlier? Explain.

• REFLECTION

  After your students finish sharing their findings from the last section, direct them to the Reflection section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following final video clip in which author Brady Crytzer provides closing remarks to his talk about the 1794 Whiskey Rebellion uprising in western Pennsylvania. Direct your students to answer the related questions and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #13: “The Western Insurrection” (1:22).

  • What was the Whiskey Rebellion called “in its own time?” Why?
  • Based on the clip, how did Thomas Jefferson use the Whiskey Rebellion while running for President?
  • How and why did Alexander Hamilton try to “minimize” the event?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished with the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having learned about the 1790s Whiskey Rebellion, assess its significance as part of American history. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.