In 1907 President Theodore Roosevelt appointed George B. MacDonald 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.
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of the Curator
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