1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Fries, John |←Fries, Jakob
Friedrich||1911 Encyclopædia Britannica, Volume 11 |See also
John Fries on Wikipedia, and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica
disclaimer.| FRIES, JOHN (c. 1764-1825), American insurgent
leader, was born in Pennsylvania of “Dutch” (German) descent
about 1764. As an itinerant auctioneer he became well acquainted
with the Germans in the S.E. part of Pennsylvania. In July 1798,
during the troubles between the United States and France,
Congress levied a direct tax (on dwelling-houses, lands and
slaves) of $2,000,000, of which Pennsylvania was called upon to
contribute $237,000. There were very few slaves in the state,
and the tax was accordingly assessed upon dwelling-houses and
land, the value of the houses being determined by the number and
size of the windows. The inquisitorial nature of the proceedings
aroused strong opposition among the Germans, and many of them
refused to pay. Fries, assuming leadership, organized an armed
band of about sixty men, who marc