Democratic (constitutionalist) President Polk—without a constitutional amendment—signs the Three Million Dollar Act, granting Edward K. Collins an initial capital investment of 3,000,000 Dollars, plus annual payments of 385,000 Dollars per year, for the development of a merchant marine steamship fleet.
Postscript: Although Collins did not develop the fleet, he hosted some lavish parties for members of Congress, and the Cabinet. In 1858 Congress terminated Collins’ subsidies, and his free-market competitor Cornelius Vanderbilt drove him into bankruptcy.
[added 1/28/2022]
Subsequent Events:
Authority:
“Law of the Jungle”
ccc-2point0.com/preface
References:
Three Million Dollar Act, 9 Public Statutes at Large 174 (1847).
Thomas DiLorenzo, How Capitalism Saved America: The Untold History of Our Country, from the Pilgrims to the Present, (New York: Crown Forum, 2004), 131-32.
Current U.s. National Debt:
