George Washington Cabinet
Vice president john adams was not included in washington s cabinet as it was not until the 20th century that the vice president s office was considered a cabinet position.
George washington cabinet. To establish balance and gain credibility for the government. Washington also set the standards for each cabinet member s roles and how each would interact with the president. Those four cabinet positions remain the most important to the president to this day with the war department having been replaced by the defense department.
A cabinet is not mandated by either the constitution or established law. The presidency of george washington began on april 30 1789 when washington was inaugurated as the first president of the united states and ended on march 4 1797 washington took office after the 1788 89 presidential election the nation s first quadrennial presidential election in which he was elected unanimously washington was re elected unanimously in the 1792 presidential election. While there are currently sixteen cabinet level positions george washington s original cabinet consisted of only four members.
The president s cabinet was an invention of america s first president a new book explores how george washington shaped the group of advisors as an institution to meet his own needs. A depiction of the first meeting of george washington and alexander hamilton photo. But although no mandate required him to form a cabinet president george washington found the concept useful for soliciting advice on interesting questions of national importance.
President washington s cabinet was made up of. Viewing the chaotic political condition of the united states after 1783 with frank pessimism and declaring may 18 1786 that something must be done or the fabric must fall for it is certainly tottering washington repeatedly wrote his friends urging steps toward an indissoluble union at first he believed that the articles of. In order to establish both credibility and balance george washington chose a cabinet that included members from different regions of the country.
The departments of state treasury and war. Universal history archive getty images hamilton became the most valued member of washington s cabinet. George washington george washington presidency.
George washington created a cabinet to help oversee his executive functions as the chief executive.
