Albert Gallatin served as Secretary of the Treasury under Presidents Jefferson and Madison, longer than any other person in that office, and is credited with establishing the fiscal foundations of the early American republic. John Austin Stevens’s biography traces Gallatin’s remarkable career from his Swiss origins to his central role in managing federal finances, negotiating the peace treaty that ended the War of 1812, and his later diplomatic service.
Gallatin is one of the most consequential and least celebrated of the founding generation’s statesmen, and Stevens’s account provides an essential portrait of his life and legacy. Download this free EPUB for a well-researched biography of a foundational American public servant.