# What is the historical origin of the US debt ceiling?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [January 15, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284 "2023-01-15T22:20:46Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284/1 "2023-01-15T22:20:46Z")

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I appreciate that there’s a lot of politics about the debt ceiling, but I’m hoping we can keep this as a factual issue:

When did the debt ceiling get created, and what was its purpose at that time?

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**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284/2 "2023-01-15T22:33:32Z")

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Someone will come along with a synopsis, but I remember finding this audio segment from Planet Money useful:

> **[Simon says we're stuck with the debt ceiling : The Indicator from Planet Money](https://www.npr.org/2021/10/13/1045792331/simon-says-were-stuck-with-the-debt-ceiling)**
>
> The debt ceiling approaches. A congressional standoff ensues. It wasn't always this way. So why did the debt ceiling get built? And how do other countries control their debt?

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**Author:** ![Riemann](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/riemann/32/3133_2.png) [@Riemann](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Riemann)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284/3 "2023-01-15T22:36:37Z")

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There’s an extensive account of the legislative history in the Wikipedia article.

[United States debt ceiling - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_debt_ceiling)

[History of the United States debt ceiling - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_debt_ceiling)

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**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\
**Post date:** [January 15, 2023, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-is-the-historical-origin-of-the-us-debt-ceiling/978284/4 "2023-01-15T22:44:23Z")

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A longer article despite the title, [Brief history of US debt limits before 1939](https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1719687115), has a good summary of early federal debt practices.