Once when it could not meet foreign debts, and 4 times due to internal debts.
一次是外债还不起, 4次是内债。
著名历史人物传记
To resolve this, Hamilton proposed to create a public debt, using debts incurred by the various states during the revolutionary war, which the federal government would assume if he could show the U.S could pay back its internal debt.
Internal debt or domestic debt is the part of the total government debt in a country that is owed to lenders within the country. Internal debt's complement is external debt. Commercial banks, other financial institutions etc. constitute the sources of funds for the internal debts