for Independence. In 1791 the first national bank was organized to aid in placing the governmental finances on a sound footing. (See Bank, Banking.) As the tariff of 1789 did not furnish revenue enough to meet current expenses, including the interest on the public debt, Congress in 1791 laid an excise tax upon spirits, which was further extended in 1794 to cover a considerable number of articles. In 1798 a direct tax was levied upon lands, dwelling houses, and slaves. Both the excise and the direct taxes were unpopular and unproductive, yielding in all only $1,582,000 in 1801. The customs duties, on the other hand, increased from $4,399,000 in 1791 to $10,751,000 in 1801.
From 1801 to 1811 revenue largely exceeded expenditures, in spite of the repeal of the excise taxes in 1802. The national debt was reduced from $83,000,000 to $45,200,000. With the outbreak of the War of 1812, customs duties fell off with the ruin of commerce, while military expenditures made a heavy drain upon the national resources. Excise duties were repugnant to the principles of the Republican Party, then in power; accordingly it was necessary to finance the war chiefly by means of loans and the issue of treasury notes. Up to the end of 1814 $41,010,000 was borrowed; by February, 1815, $36,680,000 in treasury notes had been issued, of which, however, part was issued to pay off earlier issues, the largest amount outstanding being $17,619,000 in 1816. In 1813 a direct tax of $3,000,000 was levied, and in 1814 excise taxes were again imposed. These taxes were repealed in 1817 with the increase in customs revenue attendant upon the renewal of foreign commercial relations. From 1816 to 1835 revenue exceeded expenditures so far as practically to extinguish the national debt in the latter year. In 1836 and 1837 a surplus accumulated, which was distributed to the States in the guise of a loan in 1837, about $28,000,000 being disposed of in this way. An important item in the revenues of 1834-37 was the proceeds from the sale of public lands. From 1810 to 1830 the sales of public lands had yielded an annual income ranging from one to two millions; in 1834 the yield was about $15,000,000; 1835, $14,767,000; 1836, $24,877,000; 1837, $6,776,000.
The following table gives the receipts and expenditures for typical years from the adoption of the Constitution down to the Civil War:
| YEARS | Total ordinary receipts |
Expenditures |
| 1792 | $3,669,000 | $8,269,000 |
| 1801 | 12,935,000 | 9,393,000 |
| 1811 | 14,422,000 | 8,178,000 |
| 1814 | 9,800,000 | 34,720,000 |
| 1816 | 47,677,000 | 31,196,000 |
| 1821 | 14,573,000 | 15,842,000 |
| 1831 | 28,526,000 | 15,237,000 |
| 1841 | 16,860,000 | 26,482,000 |
| 1850 | 43,592,000 | 40,948,000 |
| 1860 | 56,054,000 | 63,201,000 |
The years 1837-43 showed a series of deficits owing to decline in revenue through commercial depression, and increase in expenditures due chiefly to greater expense in managing Indian affairs and the undertaking of internal improvements. It became necessary to resort again to the issue of treasury notes and the sale of bonds. An increase in tariff rates in 1842 restored the balance and created a surplus, which was turned into a deficit by the expenses of the Mexican War. Between 1846 and 1851 the national debt increased from $15,550.00 to $68,304,000. By 1857 the debt had been reduced to $28,700,000. A new series of deficits began with 1858, which increased the indebtedness about $50,000,000 by 1860, when the Morrill tariff act restoring higher duties supplied revenue in excess of expenditures.
For finances of the Civil War and the subsequent period, see Debt, Public; Finance; Specie Payments, Suspension of; etc.
Money. By an act of March 4, 1900, the gold dollar weighing 25.8 grains was made the standard of value of the monetary system. The gold coins in common use, however, are the five, ten, and twenty dollar pieces. Silver dollars, half dollars, etc., are also coined and accepted as convenient mediums of exchange. Silver and gold certificates are issued by the Government, for the repayment of which a fund of $150,000,000 in gold has been established. For further particulars, see articles on Money, Coinage, etc.
Weights and Measures. The United States system of weights and measures is fully discussed in the general article on Weights and Measures.
Army. The first step toward the establishment of a military force under the control of the Continental Congress was taken June 15, 1775, when that body resolved that a general be appointed to command all the Continental forces raised or to be raised for the defense of American liberty, and unanimously elected George Washington. One year later (June 13, 1776) the Continental Congress created a ‘Board of War,’ the germ of the modern War Department. The Revolution was a great war school for the crude but patriotic bands that rallied under Washington's standard, and the Regular Army of to-day rests upon the foundation then laid, after European methods. Thus the United States articles of war are copied from the British military code; the principles of discipline, drill, and accountability for property survive as they were prescribed by the aide-de-camp of Frederick the Great—Baron Steuben; while the French volunteer Baron du Portail became the first Chief of Engineers.
In September, 1776, the Continental Congress appointed a committee to confer with the general officers of the army with the view of creating a system of instruction which would furnish officers educated in the theory of military art and science. This was the origin of the Military Academy at West Point, which institution, however, was not formally established until 1802.
Notwithstanding Washington's wise counsel, that provision should be made for a permanent and well-equipped army, the close of the Revolution saw the seasoned veterans return to their farms and other civil avocations, and Congress, swayed by the arguments that “Standing armies in time of peace are inconsistent with the principles of republican government and dangerous to the liberties of a free people,” that “the United States being remote from nations having peace establishments and by being always in a state of defense, on the plan of the confederation, which provides that every State shall always keep up a well regulated and disciplined militia,” directed the discharge of “the troops now (May 26, 1784)
