1801 Letter Albert Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury to Secretary of the Navy for Sale

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1801 Letter Albert Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury to Secretary of the Navy For Sale

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1801 Letter Albert Gallatin Secretary of the Treasury to Secretary of the Navy:
$695.00

A wonderfully historic document written by Thomas Jefferson\'s Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin, to the Secretary of the Navy Robert Smith. In the letter, Gallatin writes to Smith requesting financial estimates for the present quarter and the two following. This was writtenwithin the firstcouplemonths of Jefferson\'s Presidency, and no doubt Gallatin was getting acquainted with his new, albeit unconfirmedpositionwithinthe President\'snew cabinet.Gallatin was arguably one of the most capable Treasury Secretaries in American history, who significantlyreduced the national debt, and later on served as part of the peace delegation that ended the War of 1812. As would be expected, the document was written on reed paper, was folded and wax sealed. It looks like the document was folded prior to the ink completely drying (or properly blotted), and has subsequently suffered somestray ink smear, including in the signature area. There are also some splits inin the paper where the document was folded.Nonetheless,a wonderful document that would look nice matted and framed! (This will be contained in a plastic document sleeve.)
Dimensions are approximately 10 5/16\" x 8 3/16\"
The document remains in fair condition, showing signs of age and wear. There are splits in the creased areas where it was folded, especially along the edge (as shown). Edge wear and corner bruising is evident. General age toning to be expected of a document that is 221 years old. It appears that the ink was not properly blotted prior to folding, which caused the ink to transfer into other areas of the document, including the signature area. Please see the pictures for more detail.
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\"Treasury DepartmentMay 18th, 1801
Sir,
I will thank you to cause me to be furnished with an Estimate of the probable amount of the monies which will be required for the service of your Department, for the remainder of the quarter ending the 30th of June next - as also for the two succeeding quarters of the present year.
I have the honor to beVery respectfully, SirYour Obedient Servant Albert Gallatin\"
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin (born de Gallatin; January 29, 1761 – August 12, 1849) was a Genevan-American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Biographer Nicholas Dungan states that Gallatin was \"America\'s Swiss Founding Father.\" He is known for being the founder of New York University and for serving in the Democratic-Republican Party at various federal elective and appointed positions across four decades. He represented Pennsylvania in the Senate and the House of Representatives before becoming the longest-tenured United States Secretary of the Treasury and serving as a high-ranking diplomat.
Gallatin was born in Geneva in present-day Switzerland and spoke French as a first language. He immigrated to the United States in the 1780s, settling in western Pennsylvania. He served as a delegate to the 1789 Pennsylvania Constitutional Convention and won election to the Pennsylvania General Assembly. An opponent of Alexander Hamilton\'s economic policies, Gallatin was elected to the United States Senate in 1793. However, he was removed from office on a party-line vote after a protest raised by his opponents suggested that Gallatin did not meet the required nine years of citizenship. Returning to Pennsylvania, Gallatin helped calm many angry farmers during the Whiskey Rebellion.
Gallatin returned to Congress in 1795 after winning election to the House of Representatives. He became the chief spokesman on financial matters for the Democratic-Republican Party, leading opposition to the Federalist economic program. Gallatin\'s mastery of public finance led to his choice as Secretary of the Treasury by President Thomas Jefferson, despite Federalist attacks that he was a \"foreigner\" with a French accent. Under Jefferson and James Madison, Gallatin served as secretary from 1801 until February 1814. Gallatin retained much of Hamilton\'s financial system, though he also presided over a reduction in the national debt prior to the War of 1812. Gallatin served on the American commission that agreed to the Treaty of Ghent, which ended the War of 1812. In the aftermath of the war, he helped found the Second Bank of the United States.
Declining another term at the Treasury, Gallatin served as Ambassador to France from 1816 to 1823, struggling with scant success to improve relations with the government during the Bourbon Restoration. In the election of 1824, Gallatin was nominated for Vice President by the Democratic-Republican Congressional caucus. Gallatin never wanted the position and was humiliated when forced to withdraw from the race because he lacked popular support. In 1826 and 1827, he served as the ambassador to Britain and negotiated several agreements, such as a ten-year extension of the joint occupation of Oregon Country. He also became president of the National Bank\'s branch in New York City. In 1842, Gallatin joined with John Russell Bartlett to found the American Ethnological Society. With his studies of the languages of Native Americans, he has been called \"the father of American ethnology.\"