President Adams had been infatuated by the pomp of European courts he had visited as an American minister during the Revolutionary War, and he suggested addressing Washington as “Your Highness” or “Your Most Benign Highness.” Members of the Senate responded with long, pompous arguments deploring Adams’s suggestions as either too frothy or not frothy enough.

By the time Washington retired from the presidency in 1797, he had established that the power of the president was vested in the office, not in the individual who held the office. He attended the inauguration of his successor, John Adams, and insisted on walking behind him at the close of the inaugural ceremonies, thus demonstrating the peaceful transfer of power under the new Constitution.

Western farmers felt the tax was an abuse of federal authority wrongly targeting a demographic that relied on crops such as corn, rye, and grain to earn a profit. However, shipping this harvest east was dangerous because of poor storage and dangerous roads. As a result, farmers frequently distilled their grain into liquor which was easier to ship and preserve. While large-scale farmers easily incurred the financial strain of an additional tax, indigent farmers were less able to do so without falling into dire financial straits.