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'''House of Representatives'''

'''House of Representatives'''

Macon took his seat in the House in October 1791 and quickly became prominent as a supporter of [[Thomas Jefferson]] and an opponent of [[Alexander Hamilton]] and his plans for political and economic centralization, including his funding and assumption scheme and proposal for a national bank. In February 1792, Macon introduced a bill to force the Treasury Department to disclose its financial records, igniting a severe controversy.  

Macon took his seat in the House in October 1791 and quickly became prominent as a supporter of [[Thomas Jefferson]] and an opponent of [[Alexander Hamilton]] and his plans for political and economic centralization, including his funding and assumption scheme and proposal for a national bank. In February 1792, Macon introduced a bill to force the Treasury Department to disclose its financial records, igniting a severe controversy and establishing his reputation as an enemy of federal supremacy. Combined with the decline of the [[Federalist]] party in North Carolina, he soon became the recognized leader of the state delegation in the House.

 

In 1794, Macon proposed a series of excise taxes on beer and wine to balance the impact of the new tax on whiskey, which had disproportionately impacted farmers in the South and West; this was rejected, and resentment over the tax shortly led to the [[Whiskey Rebellion]] on the western frontier. He opposed other aspects of the Federalist program, notably the [[Alien and Sedition Acts]] of 1798, arguing that the federal government had no constitutional authority to limit freedom of speech and the press. Macon supported the [[Virginia and Kentucky Resolutions]] put forward by Jefferson and Madison, and even suggested that the state legislatures should refuse to elect senators to Congress, thus dissolving the government.

==Quotes==

==Quotes==