Secretary Of The Treasury Alexander Dallas Writes To Philadelphia Customs Collector On Shift To Treasury Notes In Preparation For Creation Of Second Bank Of The United States

ALEXANDER J. DALLAS (1759-1817). Dallas was the first Reporter of Decisions of the United States Supreme Court from 1790-1800 and the sixth United States Secretary of the Treasury from 1814 to 1816. His daughter, Sophia Bache, married the grandson of Benjamin Franklin and his son, George Dallas, served as Vice President under James K. Polk. JOHN STEELE (1758-1827). Steele served as customs collector of Philadelphia from 1808 until shortly before his death. DS. 1 pg. 5 x 7. April 28, 1815. Treasury Department, Washington. A document signed by A.J. Dallas to John Steele, Esq., Collector, Philadelphia: Sir, I have received your letter of the 25. Instant. (truncated) You will be pleased to pay Debentures with Treasury Notes. In the United States, a debenture is an unsecured corporate bond that does not have a line of income or piece of property to guarantee repayment. In urging these relatively risky investments to be supported by public treasury notes, Dallas is both expanding the use of government notes and increasing the risks placed on federal credit. As Secretary of the Treasury, Dallas sought to restabilize an American banking system that had been weakened by the end of the First Bank of the United States and the War of 1812. Thus, this letter provides valuable insight into the shift within the Democratic-Republican Party away from the decentralized anti-Hamiltonian banking policies championed by Jefferson, a shift that would culminate in the chartering of the Second Bank of the United States the year after this letter. (Inventory #: 5889)