inflation

To fund the war congress made a serious error by printing nearly 200 million dollars worth of paper currency with hopes the states would buy the currency with state taxes.. Instead they followed their example and printed their own money! Prices went way up to match the supply of money. Their money became worthless.. The continental dolar becoming less valuable than a penny, even the states stopped accepting it for debts. Some states foolishly fixed prices which caused shortages which resulted in black markets which resulted in bribery and crime. Elderly living on fixed incomes (eg $200/month) became destitute as the price of living shot up thousands of percent. Creditors shut their doors rather than be paid in dollars that next week would be worth nothing.