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| - State defaults in the 1840s (in the United States) were defaults by U.S. states that took place in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and the territory of Florida. The end of an inflationary period from 1834 to 1839 and the Panic of 1837 led to a tightening of credit lending from the Bank of England. By 1841, nineteen of the twenty-six U.S. states and two of the three territories had issued bonds and incurred state debt. Of these, the aforementioned states and territory were forced to default on payments. Four states ultimately repudiated all or part of their debts, and three went through substantial renegotiations. (en)
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has abstract
| - State defaults in the 1840s (in the United States) were defaults by U.S. states that took place in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Pennsylvania, and the territory of Florida. The end of an inflationary period from 1834 to 1839 and the Panic of 1837 led to a tightening of credit lending from the Bank of England. By 1841, nineteen of the twenty-six U.S. states and two of the three territories had issued bonds and incurred state debt. Of these, the aforementioned states and territory were forced to default on payments. Four states ultimately repudiated all or part of their debts, and three went through substantial renegotiations. It is important to distinguish state defaults and bankruptcies. A default is a breach of obligations under a debt contract, which a sovereign is entitled to do, especially before the passage of the 14th Amendment. The 1933 Arkansas Default, after the 14th Amendment was passed, would prove much more difficult for the state, because of the increased power of federal court over states. By contrast, a bankruptcy is a legal process, under federal law, to systematically sort out debt obligations under the supervision of a judge. There are no provisions in U.S. bankruptcy law that authorizes a state to declare bankruptcy. The states were borrowing to fund transportation investments as well as raising capital to start new banks. Northern states, such as Pennsylvania and Maryland, incurred debt through the building of canals to connect the Midwest to ports on the Atlantic Ocean. Midwest states, including Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Michigan, built railroads and canals throughout the region, while Southern States raised capital to fund new banks to improve a weakened banking system. The majority of state debt was owed to parties outside the U.S., primarily Europe. State debts were largely paid off in full by the late 1840s, although no direct sanctions were enacted to force repayment. The state defaults inspired the enactment of the Bankruptcy Act of 1841, although the Act did not apply to the states themselves, and was soon repealed in 1843. (en)
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