Treasury Department General Obligation records

As in several other states, public debt has played a central role in the history of public financing in Rhode Island. Starting in the early eighteenth century, Rhode Island's government relied heavily on paper money and credit notes to finance its operations. Especially during the revolution and its aftermath, and then with the launching of public projects in the first part of the nineteenth century, the state relied on debt to cover its expenses. This series includes records documenting the Treasury department's issuance of and payments on various forms of indebtedness in the form of bonds, state notes, and bills of credit.