He considered it a mere matter of calculation whether the purchase of peace was not cheaper than the expense of a war.

This policy was to be continued for eight years, at the end of which he hoped that a different tone might be assumed.

In a note on the message of 1802, Gallatin expressed the hope to Jefferson that his administration would "afford but few materials for historians." He would never sacrifice permanent prosperity to temporary glitter.
Mr.Gallatin's counsel was sought, and his opinion deferred to, on subjects which did not fall directly within the scope of administration.
Even on questions of fundamental constitutional law his judgment was not inferior to that of Madison himself.

In one notable instance he differed from Mr.Lincoln, the attorney-general, whom he held in high esteem as a good lawyer, a fine scholar, "a man of great discretion and sound judgment." This was in 1803, when the acquisition of East Louisiana and West Florida was a cabinet question.

Mr.Lincoln considered that there was a difference between a power to acquire territory for the United States and the power to extend by treaty the territory of the United States, and held that the first was unconstitutional.