Republican (constitutionalist) former President Jefferson writes to Republican Representative John Wayles Eppes, of the Commonwealth of Virginia, bemoaning the accumulation of federal debt because of the (Napoleonic War of 1812):
It is, at the same time, a salutary curb on the spirit of war and indebtment, which, since the modern theory of the perpetuation of debt, has drenched the earth with blood, and crushed its inhabitants under burthens [sic] ever accumulating.
[restored 08/21/2026]
Subsequent Events:
References:
“‘Debt, Taxes, Banks, Paper’ to John Wayles Epps,” (June 24, 1813), Thomas Jefferson, Writings, Merrill D. Peterson, ed., (New York: Library of America, 1984), 1280 1282.
Thomas J. DiLorenzo, Hamilton’s Curse: How Jefferson’s Archenemy Betrayed the American Revolution—and What It Means for America Today, (New York: Crown Forum, 2008), 40.
Current U.s. National Debt:
