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History of the Treasury
Secretaries of the Treasury
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Alexander J. Dallas
(1814 - 1816)
When Alexander Dallas (1759-1817) was appointed Secretary
of the Treasury by President Madison in 1814, he was faced with a bankrupt
Treasury depleted by the War of 1812 and with an unstable currency situation
caused by the
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Sec. Alexander J. Dallas
Freeman Thorp
Oil on canvas
1881
63 x 53 ½ x 5 1/16”
P.1880.8
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proliferation of commercial banks and their
worthless bank notes not backed by specie. In a report to Congress in 1814,
Dallas advocated permanent annual revenue to be raised by internal taxes,
in addition to the external revenue already derived from Customs duties. He also advised the creation of the Second Bank of the United States to supply financial
resources to an embarrassed Treasury and regulate bank note circulation.
The revenue measures elaborated in this report mark
the beginning of a conflict between advocates of internal revenue and those of
solely external revenue. This conflict continued until the imposition of the income
tax in 1913. Excise taxes, established in 1813 as a temporary wartime
measure, continued to be collected until 1817. In addition, Congress enacted
a high external tariff in 1816 to help pay the war debt. Dallas succeeded
in his efforts to establish the Second Bank of the United States, which
was chartered by Congress in 1816. He retired that year after the new
Bank had been organized.
About the Artist
Freeman Thorp (1844 – 1922) came to Washington, D.C. from Geneva,
Ohio in 1861 and became a prolific painter of official portraits. At one
time he had his studio in the attic of the Senate wing of the Capitol
where he painted a life portrait of President Grant. He also painted life
portraits of Presidents Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, and Cleveland in
addition to numerous senators, representatives, and generals. Thorp's
portrait of Alexander J. Dallas, executed in 1881, is a copy of an original
by Gilbert Stuart now hanging in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.
Office of the Curator
All rights reserved. 2001
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