Political showdowns over the debt ceiling have brought us perilously close to default, not from insolvency, but from ideology. In the early 1840s, the state of Mississippi made a stunning announcement: it would not pay back its debts. But when the state claimed it could no longer pay—victims of poor management and a broader financial panic—Mississippi’s leaders pointed fingers elsewhere. And in 1841, Mississippi became one of the first U.S. states to repudiate its own bonds—flatly refusing to pay. And today, as Congress once again weaponizes debt as a political tool, it’s worth asking: what memory are we making?