The US was debt free in 1835, when the national debt was paid off under President Andrew Jackson’s administration. The debt was about $58 million US Dollars (USD) when Jackson took office in 1829. He made paying off the debt a major priority and accomplished it mainly by selling government-owned land in the West. The period of the US being debt free lasted until the Panic of 1837, a financial crisis brought on by the states’ excessive printing of currency without enough reserve to back it. This resulted in a six-year-long economic depression, and the US began borrowing money again.
More about the US national debt:
The first taxes in the US were enacted in the 1790s to help the newly formed country pay off its debt, which had a 30% debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio, or around $58 million USD at the time.
After the end of World War II in 1945, it took the US 17 years to pay off its wartime debt.
The record high of US debt was about $17 trillion USD, as of late 2013.
Discussion Comments
I think "The record high of US debt was about $17 trillion USD, as of late 2013" is an understatement.
I'm sure the debt is much higher than $17 trillion.
Is the US now debt free?
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