Who got the national debt to 0?

The Only U.S. President to Eliminate the National Debt

Throughout American history, few financial milestones stand out like the complete elimination of the national debt—something achieved just once. In January 1835, under President Andrew Jackson, the U.S. public debt dropped to zero. It remains the only time in the nation’s history that this has happened.

The road to that moment began long before Jackson took office. By 1791, the young republic already carried a debt of over $75 million, mostly from the Revolutionary War. Over the next four decades, borrowing continued through conflicts and expansion, pushing the debt higher. But Jackson, a staunch opponent of national debt and the Bank of the United States, made fiscal restraint a cornerstone of his presidency.

Through a combination of aggressive debt repayment, revenue from land sales in the western territories, and a surplus from federal operations, Jackson’s administration managed to erase what had grown into a significant obligation. By January 1835, Treasury records confirmed the unthinkable: the country was debt-free.

However, the victory didn’t last. Just a year later, economic turmoil and falling revenues brought the debt back. By the time Jackson left office in 1837, the surplus had vanished, and borrowing resumed. Still, the brief moment in 1835 remains a unique footnote in U.S. financial history.

While modern economic policy rarely aims for zero debt—given the scale of government spending and global finance—Jackson’s achievement underscores a time when fiscal austerity was not just idealized, but realized. Whether his approach would work today is debatable, but the feat itself is undeniable.