Coming from Geneva in Switzerland, the aristocrat Albert de Gallatin launched his unusual immigrant career 235 years ago in America. Albert de Gallatin was part of the American government under Thomas Jefferson and James Madison. Yet he is practically forgotten, both in America and in Switzerland. A few measly parks and schools bear his name, but look outside the library of the Senate, and no one knows a thing.
Albert de Gallatin came from a very rich and powerful Geneva family. This was the time before Switzerland existed, and he was local high aristocracy. Despite being assured of influence and power at home, he decided to emigrate to Massachusetts. From there he moved to Pennsylvania where he was elected to the Senate but was unacceptable for not having American citizenship for 9 years. He returned to Washington two years later as a member of the House of Representatives.
Almost as soon as he arrived on US soil, he became influential and powerful in politics; his business acumen was less good. Finance Minister, diplomat, ethnologist and bank president: The career of the Geneva aristocrats was colorful and exceptional. But the humble man preferred life in the shadow of the high and mighty residing in the White House. Today, a bronze statue of Albert de Gallatin stands in front of the Department of Finance in Washington DC. The Ministry is right next to the official residence of the US president. But tourists only want to see the White House. None of them have heard of Albert Gallatin as he had Americanized his name.
The career of Swiss emigrant Albert Gallatin was different from typical emigrant stories. He was not stranded and destitute; he did not rely on the help of the United States immigration bureau. On the contrary: He arrived as a rich and well educated individual with a natural flair for power, power broking, and influence peddling.
Albert Gallatin lost his parents early; thanks to his noble birth and vast family fortune, the orphaned boy enjoyed but a first-class education. The set views of the European aristocracy and the conservative mindset in his social circle were contrary to the adolescent young man's liberalism. At the age of 19, he crossed the Atlantic with the aim to help build the young nation USA.
After a detour through Massachusetts, he settled in Pennsylvania. Local politics became his daily bread. The young man with the strong French accent and the many novel ideas soon made his mark. Voted into the Senate but refused for not being an American citizen for long enough, he made the Congress two years later. From there, Thomas Jefferson called him to become the fourth Finance Minister of the US. From 1801 to 1814 under first President Jefferson and then Madison he was in that office. To date, he is the longest sitting Finance Minister of the US.
He may have bought into the American way of life, got his US citizenship, and joined the classe politique in Washington DC. The bald Swiss brought something with him from home. He taught the Americans saving; his budget was balanced and he managed to repay outstanding debts. He was against war, mainly for cost reasons. Albert Gallatin managed to procure the necessary money to buy Louisiana from the French. The addition of Louisiana more than doubled the US territory. It made him one of the most important officials of the young Republic. The magic of it all was that he managed this without raising taxes.
In 1814, Albert Gallatin negotiated the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the 1812 war between the USA and the United Kingdom. That was possibly an even greater historical achievement. After that, Albert Gallatin was sent as ambassador to France during the eventful but annoying period of Restoration of the Bourbon Louis XVIII. He was then sent to London before returning and settling in New York City. In New York, he founded the New York University NYU, the American Ethnological Society, and the second US bank.
Albert Gallatin's last resting place is in the courtyard of Trinity Church in Manhattan right next to the financial district, the famous Wall Street. The Master of Finance should feel in heaven. And having said at the beginning that there are a few measly parks and schools named after him, there are a few counties, a river, and a mountain range, too. Not that anyone knows why they have that name. Just look at the state of the Albert Gallatin Memorial Bridge and you know how many people know or care about him.
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