Who did we borrow the money to fund the revolution? Who had that much money to loan?
As our Founding Fathers developed the original Thirteen Colonies into the independent United States of America in 1776, debt already was a reality for the fledgling nation. Even from this early time, leaders financed wars by borrowing.
Shortly after the American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), public debt grew to more than $75 million and continued to swell considerably over the next four decades to nearly $120 million. However, President Andrew Jackson shrank that debt to zero in 1835.
It was the only time in U.S. history when the country was free of debt.
https://www.debt.org/blog/united-states-federal-debt-timeline/