Editing Dark Corner Exhibit (section)

===TAXATION===
In 1862 the Confederacy put a huge tax on alcohol. In 1866, the US government made it permanent. The $2/gallon tax was so big it would destroy livelihoods. The landscape was not suitable for chattel slavery crops; there was not enough area for significant livestock production; and grain sales were difficult and with wildly varying prices. People needed the consistent income offered by alcohol, but couldn’t afford to pay the extreme taxes — and they didn’t.

Tasked with collecting this revenue, IRS agents took lawbreakers to court. Originally these “revenuers” were unarmed, could make no arrests, and could not destroy stills — they had to bring them back intact for evidence. Faced with fierce opposition these limitations changed. They started destroying stills and arresting those who used them.