http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History...ling_increases
A statutorily imposed debt ceiling has been in effect since 1917 when the US Congress passed the Second Liberty Bond Act. Before 1917 there was no debt ceiling in force, but there were parliamentary procedural limitations on the level of possible debt that could be held by government.
US government indebtedness has been the norm in United States financial history, as well of most Western European and North American countries, for the past 200 years.
The US has been in debt every year except for 1835.
Debts incurred during the American Revolutionary War and under the Articles of Confederation led to the first yearly report on the amount of the debt ($75,463,476.52 on January 1, 1791).
Every President since Herbert Hoover has added to the national debt expressed in absolute dollars.
The debt ceiling has been raised 74 times since March 1962,[1] including 18 times under Ronald Reagan, eight times under Bill Clinton, seven times under George W. Bush, and three times under Barack Obama.