Albert Gallatin

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Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (January 29, 1761–August 12, 1849) was an ethnologist, linguist, American politician, diplomat, and Secretary of the Treasury.

Gallatin was born in Geneva, Switzerland of a wealthy family, emigrating to Massachusetts in 1780. For a brief period he attempted to set himself up in business, and for an even briefer time taught French at Harvard University, finally purchasing land in Fayette County, Pennsylvania and moving there in 1784. (His land was in Virginia when he bought it but became part of Pennsylvania soon afterward.) The Friendship Hill National Historic Site, his home overlooking the Monongahela River, is maintained by the National Park Service.

1 Political career
2 Native American studies
3 Honors
4 Reference

Political career

Almost immediately, Gallatin became active in Pennsylvania politics; he was a member of the state constitutional convention in 1789, and was elected to the state legislature in 1790. He won election to the United States Senate in 1793. However, he was disqualified, because of his length of citizenship, after he had already taken the Oath of Office. Entering the House of Representatives in 1795, serving in the fourth through sixth Congresses, he went on to become majority leader.

As party leader, Gallatin put a great deal of pressure on Treasury Secretary Oliver Wolcott Jr. to maintain fiscal responsibility. He also helped found the House Committee on Finance (which would evolve into the Ways and Means Committee) and often engineered withholding of finances by the House as a method of overriding executive actions to which he objected. Among these was the Quasi-War, of which he was a vociferous foe. His measures to withhold naval appropriations during this period were met with extreme animosity by the Federalists, who accused him of being a French spy. It was the opinion of Thomas Jefferson that the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed largely as a way to rein in Gallatin.

When Jefferson became President, he appointed Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury. Gallatin served in that post for thirteen years, the longest term in history for that office. During the first part of his tenure he made great progress in balancing the federal budget. The United States was able to make the Louisiana Purchase without a tax increase in large part due to Gallatin's efforts. Gallatin also involved himself in the planning of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, mapping out the area to be explored.

Later the increase in expenditures for the War of 1812 caused much of the progress Gallatin had made in balancing the budget to be set back. James Madison sent him in 1813 as the U.S. representative to a Russian-brokered peace talk, which Britain ultimately refused, preferring direct negotiations. Gallatin resigned as Secretary of the Treasury to head the U.S. delegation for these negotiations in France and was instrumental in the securing of the Treaty of Ghent, which brought the war to a close.

At the war's close Gallatin, preferring to remain in France, was appointed U.S. Minister to that country and remained in this post for another seven years. He returned to America in 1823 and was selected by the Democratic-Republican Party as its vice-presidential candidate, but was dissuaded by Martin Van Buren from accepting. He returned home to Pennsylvania where he stayed until 1826.

By 1826 there was much contention between the United States and Great Britain over claim to the Columbia River system on the Northwest coast. Gallatin put forward a claim in favor of U.S. ownership in this year. He outlined what has been called the "principle of contiguity" in his statement called "The Land West of the Rockies" presented at a meeting with British envoys on December 19, 1826 which states that lands adjacent to already settled territory could reasonably be claimed by the inhabitants of the settled territory. This argument is an early version of the doctrine of America's "manifest destiny." This principle became the legal premise by which the United States was able to claim the lands to the west.

In 1826, John Quincy Adams appointed him minister to Great Britain, in which position he served to 1827, later returning and settling in New York City. Along with other prominent New Yorkers, he founded New York University in 1831, in order to offer university education to the lower and middle class. Gallatin also indulged an interest in the ethnology of Native Americans, publishing a treatise on the subject in 1836 and founding the American Ethnological Society in 1842. He also became president of the National Bank (which was later renamed Gallatin Bank). Gallatin died in Astoria on Long Island and is interred at Trinity Churchyard in New York City.

Native American studies

Throughout his public service career, Gallatin pursued an interest in Native American language and culture. He drew upon government contacts in his research, gathering information through Lewis Cass, a Secretary of War, explorer William Clark and Thomas McKenney of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He developed a personal relationship with Cherokee tribal leader John Ridge, who provided him with information on the vocabulary and structure of the Cherokee language. Gallatin's research resulted in two published works: "A Table of Indian Languages of the United States (1826)" and "Synopsis of the Indian Tribes of North America (1836)." His research led him to conclude that the natives of North and South America were linguistically and culturally related, and that their common ancestors had migrated from Asia in prehistoric times.

In 1842, Gallatin joined with John Russell Bartlett to found the American Ethnological Society. Later research efforts include examination of selected Pueblo societies, the Akimel O'odham (Pima) peoples, and the Maricopa of the Southwest. In politics, Gallatin stood for assimilation of Native Americans into European based American society, encouraging federal efforts in education leading to assimilation and denying annuities for Native Americans displaced by western expansion.

Honors

Gallatin's portrait was on the front of the $500 bill issued in 1862-3.
Gallatin's portrait was on on the standard 1¼¢ stamp from 1967-73.
Gallatin County, Montana is named in his honor.
The U.S. Department of the Treasury's highest career service award is named the Albert Gallatin Award in his honor.

Reference

Henry Adams, editor. The Writings of Albert Gallatin (3 volumes, 1879).
Henry Adams.Life of Albert Gallatin (1879).
Gallatin, Albert. "The Land West of the Rockies." The Annals of America (11 volumes). Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica Inc, 1976. 209-214.

This article incorporates facts obtained from the public domain Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

United States Secretaries of the Treasury

Image:US-DeptOfTheTreasury-Seal.png

Preceded by: Samuel Dexter	United States Secretary of the Treasury 1801–1814	Succeeded by: George W. Campbell
Preceded by: William Maclay	U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania 1793–1795	Succeeded by: James Ross

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Albert Gallatin

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Honors

Reference

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