25th day of September, 1794, and
of the Independence of the United States of America the nineteenth.

GEORGE WASHINGTON.

By the President:
EDM. RANDOLPH.

SIXTH ANNUAL ADDRESS.

UNITED STATES, _November 19, 1794_.

_Fellow-Citizens of the Senate and of the House of Representatives_;

When we call to mind the gracious indulgence of Heaven by which the
American people became a nation; when we survey the general prosperity
of our country, and look forward to the riches, power, and happiness to
which it seems destined, with the deepest regret do I announce to you
that during your recess some of the citizens of the United States have
been found capable of an insurrection. It is due, however, to the
character of our Government and to its stability, which can not be
shaken by the enemies of order, freely to unfold the course of this
event.

During the session of the year 1790 it was expedient to exercise the
legislative power granted by the Constitution of the United States
"to lay and collect excises." In a majority of the States scarcely an
objection was heard to this mode of taxation. In some, indeed, alarms
were at first conceived, until they were banished by reason and
patriotism. In the four western counties of Pennsylvania a prejudice,
fostered and imbittered by the artifice of men who labored for an
ascendency over the will of others by the guidance of their passions,
produced symptoms of riot and violence. It is well known that Congress
did not hesitate to examine the complaints which were presented, and
to relieve them as far as justice dictated or general convenience
would permit. But the impression which this moderation made on the
discontented did not correspond with what it deserved. The arts
of delusion were no longer confined to the efforts of designing
individuals. The very forbearance to press prosecutions was
misinterpreted into a fear of urging the execution of the laws, and
associations of men began to denounce threats against the officers
employed. From a belief that by a more formal concert their operation
might be defeated, certain self-created societies assumed the tone of
condemnation. Hence, while the greater part of Pennsylvania itself
were conforming themselves to the acts of excise, a few counties were
resolved to frustrate them. It was now perceived that every expectation
from the tenderness which had been hitherto pursued was unavailing,
and that further delay could only cre