Question

according to the reading, what was the one financial obligation that the us government must pay?
wages to members of the army
✔ interest on the public debt
duties on imports
complete
in order to make that payment, congress proposed a tax on
done
to save american credit from destruction, it was at least necessary that the interest on the public debt should be paid. for this purpose congress in 1781 asked permission to levy a five per cent. duty on imports. the modest request was the signal for a year of angry discussion. donkeys fond of reasoning from analogy asked, if taxes could thus be levied by any power outside the state, why had we ever opposed the stamp act or the tea duties?

Explanation:

The right-hand text states that to save American credit, paying interest on public debt was necessary, and Congress proposed a 5% duty (tax) on imports for this purpose. The first question's correct option matches this key detail, and the blanks in the second part are filled using the tax type and target from the reading.

Answer:

1. interest on the public debt
2. five per cent; imports