a law by which the property of a person who is unable or unwilling to pay his debts may be taken and distributed to his creditors, and by which a person who has made a full surrender of his property, and is free from fraud, may be discharged from the legal obligation of his debts. See Insolvent, a.

See also: Bankrupt

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, published 1913 by G. & C. Merriam Co.

Mentioned in

References in periodicals archive

Relative to the Application and Discharge of Persons under the Bankrupt Law, House Dec.

1843; "The Bankrupt Law Repealed--The Results," New York Herald, 6 March 1843.

(17) "Expenses in Bankruptcy"; Report from the Secretary of State, In Compliance with a Resolution of the Senate, in Relation to the Operation of the Bankrupt law, Senate Doc.

Chandler, The Bankrupt Law of the United States, With an Outline of the System; Together with the Rules and Forms in Massachusetts (Boston, Mass., 1842), 92-93.

Vulture capitalism in antebellum America: the 1841 Federal Bankruptcy Act and the exploitation of financial distress

Liberal new bankrupt laws could backfire by encouraging irresponsible borrowers to take on more debt, Birmingham finance experts have claimed.

Personal Finance: Bankrupt rules may backfire

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