Raymond Walters, Jr. presents the definitive biography of Albert Gallatin (1761-1849), recounting sixty years that the Swiss-born diplomat served his adopted country as a congressional leader, Secretary of the Treasury, financier, and ambassador. Gallatin was a founder of the House Committee on Finance (later the Ways and Means Committee), a member of the new Democratic-Republican Party, and an active politician who opposed the Federalist Party and its programs, while also helping to bring about the election of Thomas Jefferson.