Alberdi was one of the best-known of the “Generation of '37,” an intellectual movement of university students who debated politics, social theories, and philosophy. An opponent of the dictator Juan Manuel de Rosas, Alberdi went into exile in 1838, studying law in Uruguay and also living in Chile and in Europe. After the overthrow of Rosas in 1852, Alberdi wrote his major book, Bases y puntos de partida para la organización política de la República Argentina (“Bases and Starting Points for the Political Organization of the Argentine Republic”), which was the decisive influence on the Argentine constitution of 1853. It emphasized the need for a federal government and argued for attracting foreign capital and immigrants; his approach was encapsulated by his dictum “Gobernar es poblar” (“To govern is to populate”).

In the 1850s Alberdi was Argentine plenipotentiary in Paris, Madrid, Washington, and London. He lost official favour in the 1860s, partly because of his opposition to the Paraguayan War (1864–70). He spent his last years in semi-exile in Europe.