Social Science Models

Dear President Washington, 

As a representative of my fellow Pennsylvania farmers, I beg you to consider the position Secretary Hamilton's policies have forced upon us. We fought along side you to end tyrannical rule in our country. Now, we face oppression similar to what we suffered under the British. 

Hamilton argues that his financial plan is for the common good. We feel his view of the common good does not extend beyond what is good for his wealthy eastern business class. We have been unfairly treated by the federal government in many ways. Although the government provides for every need of the merchants in the east, it has done little to protect us from savage attacks by the Indians. As loyal Americans, we bought government bonds to help finance the revolution. When the bonds were not repaid, many of us were forced to sell them to speculators for only a fraction of their cost. Later, word was leaked to Mr. Hamilton's friends that the federal government would repay the bonds at full value. They raced into the countryside and bought up our remaining bonds for very little money. Mr. Hamilton's friends reap the rewards for our sacrifices. Now these favored easterners, enriched by robbing our pockets, are being permitted to buy up land in Western Pennsylvania even though it has been occupied and farmed by loyal citizens for years. We, who have given our blood to defend this soil from the British and the savages, must either move or buy back our land from outsiders who have never set foot in the area. 

From where are we to get money to make such purchases? Mr. Hamilton's tax on whiskey places a burden upon us that is not felt by other citizens. Whiskey is our primary commodity. Poor roads make it difficult to get our grain to the markets in the east. By distilling the grain into whiskey, we have a smaller and lighter product that is easier to transport. Heavy taxes on whiskey rob us of the single way that we have to raise cash. A property tax would be a much fairer way to raise revenue because the wealthy would pay their fair share. As a further insult upon our rights, those accused of violating the tax law are not allowed a trial by a jury of their peers. We are forced to travel all the way to Philadelphia. The costs of travel for defendants and their witnesses, the costs of an attorney, and the time lost from our farms will drive us to bankruptcy. 

We have petitioned your government without results. In our petitions we have stated that the excise tax is "unequal in its operation," and that it "falls as heavy on the poor class as the rich." When our petitions failed, our local assembly voted to resist efforts to collect the tax by refusing to communicate with tax collectors and withholding from them " all aid, comfort and support." It is true that isolated incidents of violence have occurred against tax collectors, but those are desperate acts of a people who feel ignored and abused by the federal government. Are our actions so different from the ones Patriots took against British tax collectors when they forced unfair taxes upon the people? 

We are not the enemy, sir. We are citizens who have met our responsibilities. Now we expect you to meet yours and protect all of your constituents, not just Mr. Hamilton's chosen few. 

Sincerely, 

David Bradford