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History of the Treasury
Secretaries of the Treasury
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George Bruce Cortelyou
(1907 - 1909)
In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed George Bruce Cortelyou (1862-1940) to his third cabinet position, as Secretary
of the Treasury. Previously, and also under Roosevelt, he had been the first
head of the Department of Commerce and Labor and had served as Postmaster
General. Cortelyou was Secretary of the  Treasury during the devastating Panic of 1907
in which the business of the country was brought to a standstill. Like his
predecessor, Secretary Leslie M. Shaw, Cortelyou believed it was Treasury's
duty to protect the banking system, but he realized that the Treasury was
not equipped to maintain economic stability.
He eased the crisis by depositing large amounts of
government funds in national banks and buying government bonds. To prevent
further crises, Cortelyou advocated a more elastic currency and recommended
the creation of a central banking system. In 1907, the Aldridh-Vreeland
Act was passed, providing special currency to be issued in times of panic,
and creating a commission, which helped prompt the creation of the Federal
Reserve in 1913. Cortelyou resigned at the end of Roosevelt's term.
About the Artist
A popular Washington artist in the 1890's, Charles
Harold L. Macdonald painted portraits of secretaries Dexter, Windom, Gresham,
and Gage in addition to George Cortelyou for the Treasury Department.
He is also represented in the collections of the Supreme Court and the
U.S. Naval Academy. His portrait of Cortelyou is one of his finest, painted
from life in 1907. A victim of an unfortunate fall on the ice shortly
after painting Cortelyou's portrait, Macdonald lost his left arm and did
very little painting after that. He died in 1923, destitute and alone,
at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C.
Office of the Curator
All rights reserved. 2001
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