Reply #391: Andrew Jackson "paid off" the national debt

[Art_from_Ark]

in a way that led to the Panic of 1837-- America's first Great Depression. He got rid of the stable bank, then diverted money to his crony-operated "pet banks" and encouraged the issuance of free and easy credit to speculate in land. "Wildcat banks", among others, were only more happy to "provide" this credit by issuing their own banknotes, ostensibly in exchange for specie (gold and silver, which was the only legal tender at the time), then leaving in the dead of night when they had fleeced enough depositors, leaving them with essentially worthless paper. Then Jackson, to pay off the national debt, ordered people who got land speculation loans from the government, to pay back their loans in specie, even though a lot of these same borrowers had been fleeced by wildcat banks. So the little people paid off the national debt in a way that put a huge burden on them, leading to the Panic, which conveniently happened almost as soon as Jackson's successor (and disciple), Martin van Buren, took office.