Albert Gallatin

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Lore & Background

Gallatin helped Thomas Jefferson prevail in the contentious 1800 U.S. presidential election, and his reputation as a prudent financial manager led to his appointment as Treasury Secretary. Under Jefferson, Gallatin reduced government spending, instituted checks and balances for government expenditures, and financed the Louisiana Purchase and advocated for internal improvements, most notably through his Report on Roads and Canals. He retained his position through James Madison's administration until February 1814, maintaining much of Hamilton's financial system while presiding over a reduction in the national debt. Gallatin served on the American commission that agreed to the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. In the aftermath of the war, he helped found the Second Bank of the United States. Declining another term at the Treasury, Gallatin served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1816 to 1823, struggling with scant success to improve relations during the Bourbon Restoration. In 1826 and 1827, he served as the American ambassador to Britain and negotiated several agreements, such as a ten-year extension of the joint occupation of Oregon Country. He thereafter retired from politics and dedicated the rest of his life to various civic, humanitarian, and academic causes. He became the first president of the New York branch of the National Bank from 1831 to 1839, and in 1842 joined John Russell Bartlett to establish the American Ethnological Society; his studies of Indigenous languages of North America have earned him the moniker "father of American ethnology." Gallatin remained active in public life as an outspoken opponent of slavery and an advocate for fiscal responsibility, free trade, and individual liberty.

Reader's Guide

Albert Gallatin's significance lies in his dual impact on American governance and scholarship. As the longest-serving secretary of the treasury, he reduced government spending, instituted checks and balances for expenditures, financed the Louisiana Purchase, and advocated for internal improvements via his Report on Roads and Canals, while maintaining much of Hamilton's financial system and presiding over a reduction in the national debt. His diplomatic work—including serving on the commission that agreed to the Treaty of Ghent, ending the War of 1812, and negotiating a ten-year extension of joint occupation of Oregon Country as ambassador to Britain—helped stabilize U.S. foreign relations.

Did You Know?

• Gallatin was born in Geneva in present-day Switzerland and spoke French as a first language.
• He was removed from the U.S. Senate in 1794 on a party-line vote for not meeting requisite citizenship requirements.
• Gallatin helped calm many angry farmers during the Whiskey Rebellion in 1794.
• He served as U.S. Ambassador to France from 1816 to 1823, struggling with scant success to improve relations during the Bourbon Restoration.
• Gallatin's studies of Indigenous languages of North America earned him the moniker 'father of American ethnology.'

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