The whiskey rebellion
a. led to the development of two distinct political groups.
b. started a disagreement among supporters of the federalists.
c. unified northern merchants and southern farmers.
d. caused the formation of the democratic societies.

The correct answer is A. The Whiskey Rebellion led to the development of two distinct political groups.

Explanation:

The Whiskey Revolt was an American tax conflict that began in 1791 during the presidency of George Washington.

Farmers used their leftover grain to make whiskey. They could then use them when exchanging goods. Finance Minister Alexander Hamilton wanted them to pay taxes on it. In this way he hoped to pay off the American war debt quickly. Many of the farmers were veterans from the War of Independence and thought they stood for the principles of that revolution. They wanted to be free from the federal government, while it thought it had the legal power to levy taxes because Congress had decided to do so.  

In counties throughout western Pennsylvania, the population intimidated tax officials and made it impossible for them to work. The resistance peaked in July 1794 when a crowd of more than five hundred armed men attacked the fortified home of tax official John Neville. President George Washington sent negotiators to talk to the rebels. At the same time, he asked the governors of Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania to make men available. An army consisting of more than thirteen thousand militia men arrived in western Pennsylvania. The insurgents had gone home before the arrival of the army and it was not an armed meeting. Some leaders of the uprising were convicted of treason but were pardoned by Washington.

The Whiskey revolt showed that the new federal government was prepared to use force to comply with the law. The uprising also contributed to the formation of political parties, a development that was already underway. The Whiskey tax was abolished by the Democratic-Republican Party after Thomas Jefferson came to power in 1801.