Birth of the Nation: The First Federal Congress, 1789-1791 | Next Page
Funding the National Debt
Memorial of the Public Creditors of Pennsylvania
Memorial of the Public Creditors of Pennsylvania, August 21, 1789
(Courtesy of the National Archives)

In this memorial, several prominent public creditors in Pennsylvania impatiently told Congress that it would be subjected to derision and reproach if action was not taken on the debt before the end of the first session. Declaring that a certain amount of debt could benefit the United States, they urged Congress to establish a long term funding system. Among other arguments, the petitioners observed that a funded debt would act as cement to strengthen and perpetuate the Union, binding the states to each other and the public creditors to the success of the federal government.
 

Full text transcript of the memorial.

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