Post #3632896

2026-07-06 16:42 UTC

When the war ended, the new US economy experienced a major economic depression. There was no longer any stimulus provided by war demand. Much economic activity had been destroyed by the war. US exporters lost access to British and other European markets. On top of that, the new US government imposed even higher taxes than the British had, in large part to pay off the debt the Continental Congress had accrued during the war. Again, some of this debt was owed to European lenders, but much of it was owed to wealthy American elites—people like George Washington and James Madison who owned considerable land and actual human beings. 3/

Replies (1)

@HeavenlyPossum@kolektiva.social 2026-07-06 16:45

Those radically democratic local governments, responsive to their constituents, often responded by pursuing debt erasures, tax avoidance, or issuing paper currency, which everyone at the time understood could depreciate in value, thus lowering the effective amount of everyone’s debt. This, of course, pleased the vast majority of Americans, who were not wealthy and who were suffering through an economic depression while being forced to finance government handouts to the wealthiest. 4/

Open ##3632895