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

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chervinsky, Lindsay M., 1988- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Washington, George, 1732-1799--Influence.

Hamilton, Alexander, 1757-1804.

Jefferson, Thomas, 1743-1826.

Knox, Henry, 1750-1806.

Randolph, Edmund, 1753-1813.

Cabinet officers--United States--History--18th century.

United States--Politics and government--1789-1797.

Physical Description:

416 pages : illustrations, maps, portraits ; 22 cm

Edition:

First Harvard University Press paperback edition.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts : The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2022.

Summary:

"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 U.S. 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." -- description from publisher's website. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674986480

The US Constitution says nothing about a presidential cabinet, yet this institution has grown powerful. Lindsay M. Chervinsky tells the story of George Washington's cabinet, an ad hoc panel that responded to emergencies of the day. It is supposed to be the Senate's job to advise the president, but the first cabinet changed that expectation forever.

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.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 327-400) and index.

ISBN:

9780674271036

0674271033

OCLC:

1266216418