See Historic Government Spending
Ever been curious about how the early U.S. government spent money?
The Account of the Receipts and Expenditures has all the details! The earliest report from 1793, now available on Fiscal Data, includes expenses to individuals and companies who supplied the Department of War with supplies.
These reports also included very detailed descriptions for expenses incurred by the government, including the individuals to which money was paid. See below for the travel expenses covered for an individual who testified in a counterfeiting case in 1791. Today, spending expenses can be found at an aggregate level in the Monthly Treasury Statement or in detail on USAspending.gov.
These early reports also provide a glimpse into the expenses and funding for the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. In the 1805 Account of the Receipts and Expenditures, there are expenses of $8,625 for Land Titles in Louisiana, as well as interest payments on Louisiana Stock as part of the Public Debt.
To explore more historic spending, revenue, and deficits, check out all of the Account of the Receipts and Expenditures files or the ongoing Combined Statement of Receipts, Outlays, and Balances for nearly 250 years of continuous financial reporting of the United States!