Albert Gallatin
Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), American politician, statesman, diplomat and linguist, was one of the greatest of U.S. secretaries of the treasury. He was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on Jan. 29, 1761, of an old aristocratic family. While a student at Geneva Academy, Gallatin read deeply in philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the French Physiocrats. He was dissatisfied with the traditionalism of Geneva. As a student of the Enlightenment he believed in human nature, and believed that human nature when free from social trammels would display nobler qualities and achieve vaster results, not merely in the physical but also in the moral world. Thus the democratic spirit of America attracted him in 1780 at the age of 19.[1] After time as an interpreter and partner of a speculator in western lands, in 1785 Gallatin settled on a farm in Fayette County, Pa. His experience on the frontier in Turnerian fashion shaped his thinking and aided his political advancement. Shedding his aristocratic heritage Gallatin became the exemplar and spokesman of western democracy, representing it at several state conventions and in four sessions of the Pennsylvania legislature, where he framed a program enabling the state to become debt-free.
Gallatin was elected a U.S. senator in 1793, but was voted out of his seat by Feederalist opponents on the false grounds that he had not been an American citizen long enough. Returning home, he found western Pennsylvanians angry at the whiskey tax imposed by Alexander Hamilton to rtaise money to pay the national debt. Farmers could only export whiskey because transportation costs were too high for grain. Although Gallatin had opposed the tax before it was passed and attended numerous protest meetings, his counselled moderation. Nevertheless, the role he played in the so-called "Whiskey Rebellion" in late 1793 proved a lasting political liability, as President George Washington denounced the tax protestors, called out the militia, and marched at the head of the army to put doen the rebellion. The rebellion collapsed and there was no fighting. Gallatin's neighbors, however, approved his advocacy of their cause and elected him to the U.S. House of Representatives for three terms, 1795-1801. There he became a leader in the new Jeffersonian Democratic-Republican Party, headed by James Madison. He strongly opposed Federalist domestic programs, as well as the Jay Treaty, which he thought weas a sellout to the British. When the Quasi War with France erupted he kept a low profile, but did oppose the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Gallatin's mastery of public finance, an ability rare among members of the Jeffersonian party, led to his appointment as secretary of the treasury, despite Federalist attacks that he was a "foreigner." He was secretary from 1801 to 1814 under presidents Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, the longest tenure of this office in American history. In 1808 Gallatin proposed a dramatic program of internal improvements--that is roads and canals along the Atantic seacoast and across the Appalachian mountain barrier to be financed by the federal government. It was rejected by the "Old Republican" faction of his party that deeply distrusted the national government. Most of Gallatin's proposals were eventually carried out, but this was done not by the concerted federal action he proposed but by local governmental and private action. Though often wasteful, this method enlisted local and private energies in large enterprises.[2] While not a pacifist, he strongly opposed building up a navy and endorsed Jefferson's scheme of using small gunboats to protect major ports. (The plan failed in the War of 1812 as the British landed behind the harbors unhindered.)
He sought to retire the public debt, but the expenses of the Louisiana Purchase, the Barbary Wars, and the War of 1812 prevented him from achieving his goal. He reluctantl;y supported Jefferson's embargo of 1807-1808, which tried to use economic coercion to change British policies, and failed to do so.[3] The national bank had been allowed to expire over his objections, and New England financiers refused to loan money for the war effort, so Gallatin resorted to innovative methods to finance the war. In March 1813, he initiated the public bidding system that was to characterize subsequent government borrowings. A financial syndicate subscribed for 57% of the $16,000,000 loan.
In 1813 Gallatin began a long career as a diplomat by accepting Madison's proposal that he go abroad to help negotiate a peace with Great Britain. His patience and skill in dealing not only with the British but also with his fellow members of the American commission made the Treaty of Ghent a personal triumph. From 1816 to 1823 he served as minister to France, struggling in vain to improve relations with the Bourbon Restoration government. In 1826-1827 he served as minister to Great Britain.
From 1827 until his death Gallatin was a private citizen. He was president of the National (later the Gallatin) Bank in New York from 1831 to 1839. He took a lively interest in politics, banking, and education, wrote prolifically on those subjects, and was a co-founder of New York University. For his intellect, integrity, and patriotism, he ranks among the great Americans of his period. Gallatin died in Astoria, N.Y., on Aug. 12, 1849.
Bibliography
- Henry Adams, Life of Albert Gallatin (1879) online edition
- Cachia-Riedl, Markus Claudius. "Albert Gallatin and the Politics of the New Nation." PhD dissertation U. of California, Berkeley 1998. 531 pp. DAI 1999 59(8): 3167-A. DA9902016
Fulltext: online at ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Goodrich, Carter. "The Gallatin Plan after One Hundred and Fifty Years." Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 1958 102(5): 436-441. Issn: 0003-049x Fulltext: in Jstor
- Kuppenheimer, L. B. Albert Gallatin's Vision of Democratic Stability: An Interpretive Profile. Praeger, 1996. 152 pp.
- Mannix, Richard. "Gallatin, Jefferson, and the Embargo of 1808." Diplomatic History 1979 3(2): 151-172. Issn: 0145-2096
- Nelson, John Robert. "Hamilton and Gallatin: Political Economy and Policy-Making in the New Nation, 1789-1812." PhD dissertation, Northern Illinois U. 1979. 374 pp. DAI 1980 41(1): 370-371-A. 8011170; Fulltext: online at ProQuest Dissertations & Theses
- Nettels, The Emergence of a National Economy, 1775-1815 (1962)
- Rothman, Rozann. "Political Method in the Federal System: Albert Gallatin's Contribution." Publius 1972 1(2): 123-141. Issn: 0048-5950 Fulltext: in Jstor
- Raymond Walters, Jr. Albert Gallatin: Jeffersonian Financier and Diplomat. 1957, the standard scholarly biography online edition