Conversation so far:
what is the current national debt of the usa
As of February 2020, federal debt held by the public is 17.23 trillion and intragovernmental holdings were $6.02 trillion, for a total national debt of $25.3 trillion.
how is the current national debt of the usa measured
The national debt of the United States is measured as the face value of the currently outstanding Treasury securities that have been issued by the Treasury and federal government agencies.

Question: how was the debt before 2020
Self-contained rewrite: how was the national debt of the usa before 2020