Manuscript vellum DS as president, one page, 17.5 x 14.5, April 5, 1817. Diplomatic appointment reads, in part: “That for the purpose of confirming between the United States and his Majesty The King of the United Netherlands perfect harmony and good correspondence, and of removing all grounds of dissatisfaction and reposing special Trust and Confidence in the Integrity, Prudence, and Abilities of Albert Gallatin, our Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of France, and William Eustis, our Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of the United States at the Court of his Majesty the King of the United Netherlands, I have appointed them jointly and severally Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary of the United States with full and all manner of power and authority for and in the name of the United States, to meet at the Hague or elsewhere within the Kingdom of the United Netherlands, and confer with a Minister of Ministers of his said Majesty…to agree, treat, consult, or negotiate of and concerning the general commerce between the United States and the Kingdom…and to conclude or and sign a Treaty or Treaties, Convention or Conventions…transmitting the same to the President of the United States.” Signed at the conclusion by Monroe and countersigned by the Acting Secretary of State Richard Rush. In fine condition, with intersecting folds, some scattered toning, mainly to edges, and light wrinkling.
After serving the state of Pennsylvania in both the Senate and the House, Swiss-born Albert Gallatin was appointed as Secretary of the Treasury in 1801, a position he would hold until 1814—the longest tenure of this office in American history. Adeptly navigating the difficult waters of the War of 1812, for which the US was completely financially unprepared, Gallatin proved himself highly effective in a diplomatic capacity, finding creative and well-received solutions to historically divisive obstacles. When Britain and the US began direct negotiations to reach a peace treaty in 1813, he was sent to France to head the US delegation, and played an instrumental role in securing the Treaty of Ghent, which finally brought the war to a close. As the newly inaugurated President Monroe sought an end to the discriminating shipping duties of the Netherlands in 1817, he appointed Gallatin—then serving as US Minister to France—Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to again help in negotiating on behalf of his country. A handsome and beautifully preserved document, appointing an important special envoy who, time and again, proved his abilities as a diplomat. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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