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Whilst the greatest effort has been made to ensure the quality of this text, due to the historical nature of this content, in some rare cases there may be minor issues with legibility. A large part of the following biography relates to a period of American history as yet unwritten, and is intended to supply historians with material which, except in such a form, would be little likely to see the light. The principal private source from which the author has drawn his information is of course show more the rich collection of papers which Albert Gallatin left behind him in the hands of his only now surviving son and literary executor, under whose direction these volumes are published. By the liberality and courtesy of Mr. Evarts, Secretary of State, and the active assistance of the admirable organization of the State Department, much material in the government archives at Washington has been made accessible, without which the story must have been little more than a fragment. The interesting series of letters addressed to Joseph H. Nicholson are drawn from the Nicholson mss., which Judge Alexander B. Hagner kindly placed in the author's hands at a moment when he had abandoned the hope of tracing them. For other valuable papers and information he is indebted to Miss Sarah N. Randolph, of Edgehill, the representative of Mr. Jefferson, the N icholases, and the Randolphs. The persevering inquiries of Mr. William Wirt Henry, of Richmond, have resulted in filling some serious gaps in the narrative, and the antiquarian research of Mr. James Veech, of Pittsburg, has been freely put at the author's service. Finally, he has to recognize the unfailing generosity with which his numerous and troublesome demands have been met by one whose path it is his utmost hope in some slight degree to have. show lessTags
Member Reviews
It's a good book, and I'm glad I read it, but it's not a conventional biography. At least as they're being written these days.
What we have is a bunch of letters, interspersed with explanatory exposition. The letters are both to and from the book's subject. A significant number of them are in French--though these are mostly in the first chapter, when the subject was growing up in Geneva and/or settling in America.
The book's a decent history of Gallatin's ideas, of his congressional term, and of his long stint as US Treasury Secretary. His time as a diplomat isn't really covered well, and his post-public life is only somewhat sketched, though it's clearly worth a better telling.
Despite the many letters, only occasionally does the man show more come to life in these pages--and that mostly when he's talking politics with someone. I'm sure some other biography handles this better.
And there's this "foreigner" thing. Despite his long service to our country, people forever called him a foreigner. There even seems to have been a couple attempts to amend the US Constitution explicitly intended to handicap him. Sets me to wondering if there's a master's thesis out there which explored the topic.
Finally: The author's description of Gallatin's relationship with John Quincy Adams, is interesting. Gallatin and JQ Adams seem to have been both friends and rivals. That relationship's told well. show less
What we have is a bunch of letters, interspersed with explanatory exposition. The letters are both to and from the book's subject. A significant number of them are in French--though these are mostly in the first chapter, when the subject was growing up in Geneva and/or settling in America.
The book's a decent history of Gallatin's ideas, of his congressional term, and of his long stint as US Treasury Secretary. His time as a diplomat isn't really covered well, and his post-public life is only somewhat sketched, though it's clearly worth a better telling.
Despite the many letters, only occasionally does the man show more come to life in these pages--and that mostly when he's talking politics with someone. I'm sure some other biography handles this better.
And there's this "foreigner" thing. Despite his long service to our country, people forever called him a foreigner. There even seems to have been a couple attempts to amend the US Constitution explicitly intended to handicap him. Sets me to wondering if there's a master's thesis out there which explored the topic.
Finally: The author's description of Gallatin's relationship with John Quincy Adams, is interesting. Gallatin and JQ Adams seem to have been both friends and rivals. That relationship's told well. show less
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Best U.S. History Books (1754-1828)
363 works; 18 members
Author Information
74+ Works 7,359 Members
Henry Adams was born in Boston, Massachusetts on February 16, 1838, the son of American diplomat Charles Francis Adams and grandson of President John Quincy Adams. Educated at Harvard University, he worked in Washington, D.C., as his father's secretary before embarking on a career in journalism and later in teaching. A prominent American show more historian, he wrote several important historical works. His works include The Education of Henry Adams, Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres, Esther: A Novel, and Democracy: An American Novel. He died on March 27, 1918 at the age of 80. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Series
Work Relationships
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Albert Gallatin
Classifications
- Genres
- Nonfiction, History, Biography & Memoir, Anthropology, Politics and Government, General Nonfiction
- DDC/MDS
- 973.4 — History & geography History of North America United States Constitutional period (1789-1809)
- LCC
- E302.6 .G16 .A63252 — History of the United States United States Revolution to the Civil War, 1775/1783-1861 Biography (Late eighteenth century)
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 16
- Popularity
- 1,522,757
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.33)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 2
