Albert Gallatin Quotes
It being perhaps the only large tract of country and certainly the first which lying out of the boundaries of the Union will be settled by the people of the United States.
Albert Gallatin, 1761-1849, U. S. Congressman & U. S. Senator (PA, Anti-Federalist), U. S. Secretary of the Treasury, Ambassador to Great Britain, Ambassador to France, 1803
Sourced by: Eigen's Political and Historical Quotations
He was referring to land where there were people already living. People included Indians and Mexicans. He was one of the few American Presidents who were not enthusiasts for Manifest Destiny and expansionism of America.
The Louisiana Purchase was part of a much larger grand vision for American expansion.
Jefferson had insisted that the expedition was purely scientific. The fact that it was lead by two military officers and involved soldiers led many to suspect the expedition was an “invasion” of what was then officially Spanish Territory. The very small size of the expedition made the concept of an expansion effort seemingly ridiculous to many. Jefferson was never public about his hopes fort the eventual possibilities but Martinez seemed to have gotten it right but was paid little heed.
The railroads that opened up the West are often used as examples of American corporate and entrepreneurial achievement. But private enterprise would not risk the capital for such a visionary and innovative scheme. It was the Federal Government which provided loans to start and paid for every mile of track with huge grants of land along the right of way. Then the Federal government provided the security and conducted numerous wars against the Indians to make the construction and operation possible. Had the Government and President Lincoln not pushed and supported the plan, there would have been no transcontinental railroad.
This quotation illustrates the racist view of Native Americans that prevailed at the time. The Mexican government invited settlers and would give then the Indian lands. In addition to Mexicans who came to Texas, many Americans also went to Texas, changing their citizenship to Mexico. Later, they banded together and broke from Mexico and Joined the United States. The Indians lost most of their lands.
Burke was one of the few in England who predicted economic and commercial success of America.
One of the reasons that Jefferson and others were so anxious to expand the territory of the United States was that Britain had operated with the policy that curtailed and limited the population growth of the American colonies and the resentment of this policy led to growth of America and the Westward expansion.
Abraham Alfonse Albert Gallatin, born de Gallatin was an American politician, diplomat, ethnologist and linguist. Biographer Nicholas Dungan states he 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.
