Madison Administrations - Madison's Advisers

Madison's Advisers

Madison had problems with his cabinet from the very beginning. He made his appointments with an eye towards creating geographical balance and making alliances with powerful forces inside the party. Cabinet positions were not much sought after since they did not pay well and conveyed little prestige. Most departments of government had small budgets and consisted of just a few clerks. The most reliable member of Thomas Jefferson's cabinet had been the Swiss-born secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin. Though not well liked by his fellow Democratic-Republicans, Gallatin had proved his worth by reducing the federal deficit. Madison wanted to make Gallatin secretary of state in his own cabinet, but he gave in to Senate opposition and reappointed him head of the Treasury Department. Gallatin also distinguished himself as an able negotiator when Madison dispatched him to Ghent, in Belgium where he negotiated the peace...

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