"All Debts contracted and Engagements entered into, before
the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be as valid against the United States
under this Constitution, as under the Confederation."
Article VI
The Confederation Congress
had lacked sufficient revenue to pay the foreign and domestic debts that had
accumulated to more than 54 million dollars by 1790. Some Americans, especially
those to whom the federal government was indebted, believed that provision for
the public credit should be one of the first issues to be dealt with during the
first session of the First Federal Congress.
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