Death and Taxes... and Debt

In defining, or at least trying to outline, what the American identity consists of, we have spoken about numerous characteristics that have endured time and which still define America and it's citizens. But aside from the broader commonalities like patriotism, democracy, equality, issues of immigration and government, which distinguish many nations and cultures, there are few visages that define Americans as they were defined 240 years ago. There were no McDonalds, no beauty pageants, advertising was in it's infancy and communication came in on horseback. America for the most part looks very little like it when Bejamin Franklin penned his famed Poor Richard's Almanac. But one thing in particular he wrote of in 1757 might characterize America best of all.
"If you would know the Value of money, go and try and borrow some; for, he that goes a borrowing goes a sorrowing... think what you do when you run in Debt; You give another power over your liberty." (Reading the American Past, pgs. 82-83)
I can think of few examples that characterize American society and culture better than the accumulation of debt. Benjamin Franklin warned of it in 1757 and his words ring true today as Americans and ther government rack up debt in the trillions. It's unfortunate that American consumerism has taken such a stranglehold on it's checkbook. But if we revisit how important commerical independence from Britain was following tax laws after the Seven Year's War, we can see there has always been an attraction to outlandish consumerism in America. Colonists were concerned with being able to freely purchase and trade goods. They would eventually secure that right but they were unaware of the consequences of poor credit.
As the story from Poor Richard's Almanac says, the people "began to buy extravagantly, not withstanding all his cautions." Consumerism might have brought folks together, but it definitely drove them into debt.