President Andrew Jackson Paid Off The Entire National Debt



The one and only president that paid off the national debt - Andrew Jackson.There was a time, believe it or not, when the United States had zero debt.

On January 8th, 1835, President Andrew Jackson paid off the national debt.

This was an impressive feat for the country. Due to the War of 1812, the United States incurred a great deal of debt (for the time, anyways), as they owed the equivalent of over $2 billion (in today's dollars) by 1817.

Back in those days, the federal government quite often ran at a surplus.

In the two decades following the War of 1812, the US government ran a total of 18 surpluses.

Unlike this day and age, there was no trickery with those numbers, and the surplus was used to pay down the debt.

Over the 20 years following the War of 1812, the US government slowly but surely paid down its debt.

On January 8th, 1835, President Andrew Jackson presided over the complete paying down of the national debt.

This would be the first and last time that the United States would have zero debt. A financial crisis took place in 1837 (The Panic of 1837), which resulted in a multi-year recession that caused the country's debt to tick higher once again.

By 1863, the country would hit the $1 billion debt mark for the first time.

As a result of the First World War, the nation's debt load topped $10 billion for the first time.

As a result of the Second World War, the nation's debt load topped $100 billion for the first time.

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In 2021, the United States is operating with a structural deficit.

This means that the country will continue to add to its debt load, even if the economy is operating at its full potential. There is simply too much money going out the door to balance the books.

There is essentially a zero percent chance that the country will ever pay off its debt, and there is certainly no politic appetite to do so, as the necessary cuts would be too unpopular for the general population to support.

Filed under: General Knowledge

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