Title The cabinet : George Washington and the creation of an American institution / Lindsay M. Chervinsky

Published Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2020 ©2020

Click on the following:
EBSCO eBooks
JSTOR eBooks

Copies

Description 1 online resource (416 pages) : illustrations Contents Forged in war -- The original team of rivals -- Setting the stage -- The early years -- The cabinet emerges -- A foreign challenge -- A domestic threat -- A cabinet in crisis Summary The US Constitution never established a presidential cabinet--the delegates to the Constitutional Convention explicitly rejected the idea. So how did George Washington create one of the most powerful bodies in the federal government? On November 26, 1791, George Washington convened his department secretaries--Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, Henry Knox, and Edmund Randolph--for the first cabinet meeting. Why did he wait two and a half years into his presidency to call his cabinet? Because the US Constitution did not create or provide for such a body. Washington was on his own. Faced with diplomatic crises, domestic insurrections, and constitutional challenges--and finding congressional help lacking--Washington decided he needed a group of advisors he could turn to. He modeled his new cabinet on the councils of war he had led as commander of the Continental Army. In the early days, the cabinet served at the president's pleasure. Washington tinkered with its structure throughout his administration, at times calling regular meetings, at other times preferring written advice and individual discussions. Lindsay M. Chervinsky reveals the far-reaching consequences of Washington's choice. The tensions in the cabinet between Hamilton and Jefferson heightened partisanship and contributed to the development of the first party system. And as Washington faced an increasingly recalcitrant Congress, he came to treat the cabinet as a private advisory body to summon as needed, greatly expanding the role of the president and the executive branch Bibliography Includes bibliographical references and index Notes Print version record Subject Washington, George, 1732-1799 -- Influence Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804. Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826. Knox, Henry, 1750-1806. Randolph, Edmund, 1753-1813. SUBJECT Washington, George, 1732-1799 fast Randolph, Edmund, 1753-1813 fast Knox, Henry, 1750-1806 fast Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826 fast Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804 fast Subject Cabinet officers -- United States -- History -- 18th century HISTORY -- United States -- Revolutionary Period (1775-1800) HISTORY / United States / Revolutionary Period (1775-1800) Politics and government Influence (Literary, artistic, etc.) Cabinet officers SUBJECT United States -- Politics and government -- 1789-1797. http://id.loc.gov/authorities/subjects/sh85140417 Subject United States Genre/Form History Form Electronic book ISBN 9780674245570 0674245571 9780674245556 0674245555 9780674245549 0674245547

  Permalink