Tariff of 1791

Tariff of 1791
Great Seal of the United States
Other short titles
  • 1791 Excise Whiskey Tax
  • Whiskey Tax Act of 1791
Long titleAn Act repealing, after the last day of June next, the duties hereto-fore laid upon Distilled Spirits imported from abroad, and laying others in their stead; and also upon Spirits distilled within the United States, and for appropriating the same.
NicknamesExcise Whiskey Tax of 1791
Enacted bythe 1st United States Congress
EffectiveMarch 3, 1791
Citations
Public lawPub. L. 1–15
Statutes at Large1 Stat. 199, Chap. 15
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the House as H.R. 110
  • Passed the House on January 27, 1791 (35-21)
  • Passed the Senate on February 12, 1791 (20-5)
  • Agreed to by the House on February 18, 1791 (35-21) and by the Senate on February 23, 1791 (14-9)
  • Signed into law by President George Washington on March 3, 1791

Tariff of 1791 or Excise Whiskey Tax of 1791 was a United States statute establishing a taxation policy to further reduce Colonial America public debt as assumed by the residuals of American Revolution. The Act of Congress imposed duties or tariffs on domestic and imported distilled spirits generating government revenue while fortifying the Federalist Era.

The H.R. 110 tariff legislation originated as a panacea for the Hamiltonian economic program. The Debt Assumption policy was introduced as a series of public credit and national debt reports authored by Alexander Hamilton from 1790 to 1795.[1][2]

  1. ^ Madison, James (April 22, 1790). "Assumption of the State Debts, 22 April 1790". Founders Online. U.S. National Archives and Records Administration.
  2. ^ Jefferson, Thomas (1790). "Memorandum on Assumption of State Debts". The Thomas Jefferson Papers at the Library of Congress. Washington, D.C.: The Library of Congress.