Mr. Gallatin's Changing World
by Elaine Ackerson for the site
To the twenty-first century world, with almost instant communications, events of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries would seem to move at a snail's pace. To Mr. Gallatin and his contemporaries, that was hardly the case.
While it might take a post rider three to seven days to carry a message from Philadelphia to Boston, more happened along that road than one might imagine. At each stop along the way, the news in the original message would be shared as appropriate and information gathered, then added to the original courier pouch. So, by the time the original packet reached Boston, a good deal more information was delivered than was handed to the courier in Philadelphia.
Technology was progressing in what would seem to people of the day leaps and bounds. Overland travel was becoming less time consuming with the advent of better roads, and before Mr. Gallatin's death, the advent of the steam locomotive. New equipment related to farming and the textile industries made it possible for more to be accomplished in a week than had often been possible in a month.
On the political front, the Colonies declared their independence from England when Gallatin was still a student at the Geneva Academy in Switzerland, and by the time he was nineteen, the War of Independence was into the fifth year of conflict. He arrived in America during this conflict, and found himself eventually at the center of the decisions that built the country.
After the treaty ending the War of Independence was signed, the newly formed country was establishing the rules by which she wished to be governed, and continental Europe became the scene of conflict. The French people declared themselves a democracy, overthrowing their monarchy. Soon after, Britain and France once again went to war with each other.
The question of taxation on certain domestically produced beverages found Mr. Gallatin embroiled in finding a peaceful resolution of what has become known as the Whiskey Rebellion.
With careful fiscal management during his tenure as Secretary of the Treasury, Gallatin was able to finance the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, much to the consternation of both Britain and Spain.
By 1812, the United States was drawn into the British-French conflict, with the British Navy and various commanders at British forts in North America conscripting able bodied male citizens of the United States. The British used pretext these men were deserters from the British military. In fact, many of these commanders had orders not to honor the treaties that granted the United States its independence.
Finally, at the end of 1814, Mr. Gallatin was instrumental in negotiating the treaty that ended the War of 1812. However, it took several months for the documents signed in Ghent, Belgium, to reach American shores. It took even longer for the news to reach remote outposts under both American and British control. Yet, it was not a single treaty that ended the War of 1812. Separate treaties were also negotiated with the Iroquois Nations and other native American participants in that conflict with local assistance.
After the War of 1812, under the leadership of President Monroe and his successors, the United States began to play a significant role on the world stage in North America and Europe as well as the countries of Central and South America. After Col. Monroe's Presidency ended in 1825, the significant body of policy that developed during his eight years in office began to be referred to as "The Monroe Doctrine".
Internally, questions arose concerning slavery in the expanse of the Louisiana Territory. The Missouri Compromise partially dealt with this by designating geographic boundaries to the expansion of slavery into the Territory.
Before Mr. Gallatin's death, the young nation was again involved in conflict regarding its borders. This time, the opponent was our neighbor to the south, Mexico.
In the confines of this site, there is simply far too much history to include. However, we cannot forget that the nation was expanding rapidly into the territories of the Louisiana Purchase and beyond. Inevitably, this expansion would lead to problems, compromises and even conflict. That's a story for another period of our history.