A second war of independence with Britain was looming. A trade embargo with Britain was imposed and led to a steady drop in import tax revenues over the coming years. At the same time, Gallatin needed additional revenues for war preparations. This left him with next to nothing to sustain his debt reduction strategy. By 1809, the first deficit emerged since Gallatin had taken office. In addition, and against Gallatin’s advice, Congress opted not to renew the charter of the Bank of the United States in 1811, just one year before war broke out. Congress thereby removed the main tool for arranging war financing that Gallatin would have relied on. Foreseeing financial disaster and unable to prevent it in his capacity as Secretary of the Treasury, Gallatin resigned from the Treasury in 1814. 1814-1849: Diplomacy This brings me to the fourth distinct period of Gallatin’s life, covering his post-treasury years. In 1814, Gallatin went to Russia to represent the United States and help settle hostilities at the peace conference with England and France. The conference ended successfully the same year with the signing of the Treaty of Ghent. Much of this success has been credited to Gallatin. 25 Before returning home, Gallatin made his first visit to Geneva since he had left his birthplace 35 years earlier. Geneva received him with great honors. According to his son, who accompanied him at the time, the visit was very emotional. Gallatin remained deeply attached to his native city throughout his life. 26 Albert Gallatin never returned to Treasury.
Philipp M Hildebrand: Albert Gallatin, one of the financial founding fathers – what can we learn from him today? Speech by Mr Philipp M Hildebrand, Vice-Chairman of the Governing Board of the Swiss National Bank, at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce, Geneva, 10 September 2008. I would like to thank Signe Krogstrup for her valuable support in drafting this speech. I also thank Rita Kobel and Urs Birchler for their very helpful comments and discussions. * 1. *  *  Introduction  As always, it is a great pleasure to be in Geneva. I want to thank the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce for its kind invitation. My remarks today are unusual in the sense that I will not structure them around monetary policy, the ongoing financial turmoil, or any other current monetary topic. Instead, I have the privilege to step aside temporarily from my day-to-day preoccupations and indulge in a little bit of history about a remarkable man whose origins are firmly rooted in Geneva’s beautiful “vielle ville”. Ladies and Gentlemen, it is an honor for me to pay homage to Albert Gallatin – the Geneva-born fourth – and to this day longest – serving United States Secretary of the Treasury. 1 Those of you who enjoy economic history will be familiar with the extraordinary accomplishments of Alexander Hamilton, the first Secretary of the Treasury, appointed by President George Washington in 1789. Hamilton built the foundation of the U.S. federal financial system in the late 18th century.