Nascar and The Whiskey Rebellion

NASCAR is one of the most popular sports in theThe incident helped show that the U.S. Federal
United States - and its history dates back to beforegovernment could successfully assert its power over
cars were even invented.individual states. In the end, a dozen men were
The roots of NASCAR go back to the Whiskeyarrested, though they were later pardoned. As for
Rebellion of 1794. An excise tax had been imposedthe excise tax that started the whole rebellion, it
on whiskey by the Federal government in 1791, whichwas repealed in 1801.
angered farmers. The tax was seven cents per gallonSo what does all this have to do with NASCAR?
on whiskey. Many farmers converted their grain cropIn order to overcome the tax, many farmers began
into alcohol, because grain was difficult to transportsecretly converting their grain into whiskey and selling
over mountains. Consequently, taxing whiskey wouldit on the sly. This way, they did not have to the
severely damage their livelihoods.government that they had made whiskey, and did
Ironically, the tax was imposed by the U.S. to helpnot have to turn in their earnings for the tax.
pay off debts incurred by the Federal governmentThis created the roots of the bootlegging industry. It
during the Revolutionary War - a war that wasbecame a major part of many Southern states for
fought over unfair taxation by the government.the next century, before exploding in the 1920s and
Many areas in the western U.S. were not happy with1930s. Those were the years that the U.S.
the Federal government's taxation. They felt that thegovernment prohibited the sale of alcohol - meaning
government played little role in their lives, and now itthe bootleggers were the only way to get a bottle
was taking away their hard-earned money. As aof booze.
result, many simply refused to pay the governmentAs a result, the bootlegging industry became more
agents who came along to collect their taxes. Theactive than ever...and was also under Federal scrutiny.
agents were often attacked and beaten, whileIn order to outrun the Federal agents, bootleggers
farmers who did pay the tax became objects ofdeveloped ultra-fast cars to outrun their vehicles. In
ridicule among their neighbors.turn, racing these vehicles became a popular sport.
In the summer of 1794, the rebellion came to a headWhile Prohibition was eventually repealed, the
when a Federal marshal was attacked and a regionalpopularity of the cars remained...and in 1938, the first
inspector's home was burned. U.S. President Georgeofficial NASCAR race was held.
Washington had had enough, and wound up sendingSo if you enjoy a NASCAR race on TV or at the
13,000 troops led by General Harry Lee (father ofstadium, remember - it's based in tradition that dates
Robert E. Lee) and Washington himself to quell theback to before even the first automobile. In fact, it's
riot.part of the history of America itself.
Many of the rebels fled before the militia could arrive.