![Albert Gallatin, around 1803, in a portrait by Gilbert Stuart.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/albert-gallatin1803-300x225.jpg)
Albert Gallatin: A Swiss Founding Father
Albert Gallatin (1761-1849) is often referred to as “America’s Swiss Founding Father” by historians due to his significant contributions to American government, finance, diplomacy, and cultural life.
Early Life in Geneva and the United States
![General George Washington crossing the Delaware on December 26, 1776](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/washington-delaware-dp215410-300x173.jpg)
![Philadelphia, Pennsylvania around 1787, how it looked when Gallatin was there.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/philadelphia-pennsylvania-um-1787-300x156.jpg)
![Alexander Hamilton, around 1805.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/alexander-hamilton-253x300.jpg)
The whole of the Bill [of Rights] is a declaration of the right of the people at large or considered as individuals… It establishes some rights of the individual as unalienable and which consequently, no majority has a right to deprive them of.
Financier and Diplomat par excellence
![Thomas Jefferson, 1800.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/thomas-jefferson-251x300.jpg)
![Treaty between the United States of America and the French Republic ceding the province of Louisiana to the United States](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/treaty-louisianna-purchase-197x300.jpg)
![James Madison, 1816.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/james_madison-247x300.jpg)
![Ruins of the US Capitol after the British attempted to burn the building in the War of 1812.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/ruine-des-us-kapitols-nach-dem-versuch-der-briten-das-gebaeude-im-krieg-von-1812-zu-verbrennen-300x166.jpg)
![The signing of the Treaty of Ghent in December 1814](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/unterzeichnung-des-vertrags-von-gent-im-dezember-1814-saam-1922-5-300x207.jpg)
The democratic process on which this nation was founded should not be restricted to the political process, but should be applied to the industrial operation as well.
![The infamous “Five Points” intersection in Manhattan, 1827.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/five-points-dp265419-300x224.jpg)
Humanitarian Pursuits & Legacy
![Gallatin's map of the areas of influence of North American Native American tribes around 1600](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/gallatin-first_nation_control_over_north_america_about_1600_ad-300x275.jpg)
![Albert Gallatin around 1848.](https://blog.nationalmuseum.ch/app/uploads/gallatin-1848-258x300.jpg)