The Saber and Scroll Journal Volume 1, Issue 1, April 2015 | Page 25

This gave Tom the Tinker enough time to cause problems for the owners of the
building.
Tom the Tinker became a people’s favorite for advertising the latest
offenders so the public could act against them. During one riot, James Kiddoe had
his still shot full of holes. John Holcroft, the leader of the rioters, laughed and said
Tom was tinkering with the still. This gave rise to the infamous name. It became
Tom’s job to shut down the Offices of Inspection so that there was no compliance
with law. Anyone could play the role of Tom the Tinker, and everyone took part in
protesting the tax. Even prominent, wealthy landowners in the West shared in the
protest when they published tax records in the papers, and petitions of aggrieved
parties.
People knew there were other troubled spots in the United States, but the
Federalists were too good with publicity, and made it seem as if ending the
resistance in Pennsylvania would end all the problems. Hamilton wrote in the
Gazette of the United States, the official paper for the government, what many
believed was the government’s point of view regarding the Whiskey Rebellion.
Thomas Jefferson and James Madison used other newspapers, such as the
Pennsylvanian Gazette and General Advertiser, both from Philadelphia. While
Jefferson and Madison agreed that Hamilton’s policies, supported by the
Federalists, were aristocratic by their very nature, they disagreed on the use of force
against the people in western Pennsylvania. The raising of troops was unpopular,
but when the Federalists labeled the Whiskey Boys as “Shaysites,” and not vigilante
farmers to drum up support for troops, patriot fever took hold. In a December 28,
1794 letter to Madison, Jefferson not only wrote against this, but also the way in
which the Federalists attempted to quiet the media and the Democratic societies.
The Democratic societies formed in support of the people’s causes. Their
main purposes were promoting citizen awareness, public education, and public
political discussions. 17 Along the western frontier, they petitioned the government
to open the Mississippi River, and supported the people in their rights no matter
how they chose to exercise them. In the East, they criticized the excise tax, but
denounced the Whiskey Boys for their armed resistance. The Federalists tried at
every opportunity to quiet the societies, and to limit or do away with their influence
on the public, which did not always work. The Democratic societies involved in the
western counties of Pennsylvania were the Mingo Creek and the Democratic
Society of the County of Washington in Pennsylvania. The stronger of the two was
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