Three of the most significant domestic challenges that the Federalists faced was
the land policy, which organized the sale of lands. Another domestic challenge that they
faced was the Alien and Sedition Acts, which regulated immigration and citizenship in
the United States. Last, but not least, The Whiskey Rebellion, in which the Federalists
dealt with rebellion of backcountry farmers.
The Whiskey Rebellion was caused by Hamilton's tax on liquor that he levied in
1791. This tax made alot of backcountry farmers really mad, and eventually caused them
to begin to resist, and eventually turned into a revolt. The full-blown rebellion started in
1794. The farmers became so infuriated by the tax that they began to terrorize revenuers
and taxpayers. In response to this Washington issued a proclamation that called out the
militia men to handle the situation. They received no response from the farmers, so on
September 24, they issued the proclamation for the suppression of the rebellion. General
Henry Lee and his army marched out to the backcountry. As soon as they began to put
heat on the rebellors the band vaporized. The army arrested and imprisoned twenty men.
This event gained strength and reputation for the government. However, the people
sympathetic to the frontiersmen soon became Republicans.
The Federalists issued the Alien and Sedition Acts in 1798. These acts consisted
of four separate acts that mainly reflected hostility towards foreigners, mainly the French
and Irish who were Republicans. These four acts were: The Naturalization Act, The
Alien Act, the Alien Enemy Act, and the Sedition Act. The Naturalization Act increased
the time that an immigrant had to be a resident from five years to fourteen years, in order
to become a citizen. The Alien Act gave the president the power to deport any alien that
he felt was "Dangerous" to the country. The Alien E
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