The new U.S. Constitution appears to have…

The new U.S. Constitution appears to have bridged all the disagreements among the various states, but the right of the federal government to impose direct taxation remains untested.

Following the Revolutionary War, political leaders had reduced restrictions on enslaved people, permitting them to travel and meet freely on evenings and weekends; they establish regular meeting places to socialize and worship.

The Constitution has done nothing to address the institution of slavery itself, however, and the invention of the cotton gin by Eli Whitney in 1793 creates a huge demand for slaves in the Southern states.

Plantation owners hire out skilled slaves, who earn a small wage and gain the opportunity to travel beyond their community, forming kinships and information networks across the state.

Legislators pass laws to allow owners to free slaves if they wish.

Three rebellions occur during this era, two of which—the Whiskey Rebellion and Fries' Rebellion, both taking place in Pennsylvania—are directed against federal taxation.

The first instance involves resistance to a tax on liquor; the second is a revolt against property tax intended to fund what becomes known as the American-French Quasi War of 1798-1800.

The third, Gabriel's Rebellion, is the first major slave rebellion in United States history and the second in the Western Hemisphere, preceded by the ongoing revolt of Toussaint L'Ouverture on the island of Hispaniola.