Economist And Politician

Visionary.

As the third secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin faced many obstacles. Appointed by the new president, Thomas Jefferson, in 1801, he needed to ensure that the economy flourished while following the dictates of his party, which insisted on less control by the federal government and the country's financial elite. At the same time he had his own vision of the future of the United States, which included federal aid for the economic development of the Trans-Appalachian West.

Political Origins.

Albert Gallatin was born on 12 January 1761 in the Swiss city of Geneva. After acquiring an education, Gallatin left for North America in the spring of 1780 and ended up in Pennsylvania, where he entered politics in 1788 as an Anti-Federalist (one who objected to certain features of the new Constitution). In 1790 he was elected to the Pennsylvania assembly. In 1793 this assembly elected him as...