Bankruptcy law in the United States is as old as the country itself. Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution gives congress the power to establish “uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States.” The first official bankruptcy laws were enacted by Congress in 1800.
There now exists a set of state and federal laws that govern bankruptcy. There is even a division of the federal court system that is dedicated to hearing only bankruptcy cases. Over one million bankruptcies are filed each year under the bankruptcy laws of the United States.