Look at the bottom link to the .gov site, which has data showing the national debt back to the founding. The nation has always had a debt, and it also has debt owed to it. When people talk about things like the debt ceiling being raised they are referencing how much money the US government has agreed to pay back on those loans. For the most part all countries pay only the interest on loans they own and receive the interest owed to them from loans outstanding.

Nothing about this post is correct. You seem to be basing your assumption on the creation of the US Consumer Price Index, which was created between 1917-1919 to calculate the cost of living increases needed to counter increased prices due to the war, and they retroactively estimated back to 1913.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Consumer_Price_Index#History

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_United_States_public_debt

https://www.treasurydirect.gov/govt/reports/pd/histdebt/histdebt_histo1.htm