Skip Navigation
U.S. Department of the Treasury Logo
 
  News
   Direct Links
  Key Topics
  Press Room
  About Treasury
  Offices
  Bureaus
  Education
    Duties &Functions
    History of the Treasury
      Important Events in Treasury History
    Location Indicator Secretaries of the Treasury
      Treasurers of the U.S.
    Tour the Treasury Building
    Frequently Asked Questions
    Fact Sheets
    For Kids
    Office of Executive Secretary
  Site Policies and Notices

 
 HOME         SITE INDEX    FAQ    FOIA   ESPAÑOL          
Education
 

History of the Treasury


Secretaries of the Treasury

<  BACK

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 Portrait of George Bruce Cortelyou 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