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Government Officials Presidential Cabinet Members
Although the Constitution made no provision for a president's advisory group, the heads of the three executive departments (State, Treasury, and War) and the attorney general were organized by Washington into such a group; and by about 1793, the name cabinet was applied to it. With the exception of the attorney general up to 1870 and the postmaster general from 1829 to 1872, cabinet members have been heads of executive departments.
Cabinet members are appointed by the president, subject to the confirmation of the Senate; and as their terms are not fixed, they may be replaced at any time by the president. At a change in administration, it is customary for cabinet members to resign, but they remain in office until successors are appointed.
The table of cabinet members lists only those members who actually served after being duly commissioned. The dates shown are those of appointment. Cont. indicates that the term continued from the previous administration for a substantial amount of time.
With the creation of the Department of Transportation in 1966, the Cabinet consisted of 12 members. This figure was reduced to 11 when the Post Office Department became an independent agency in 1970 but, with the establishment in 1977 of a Department of Energy, became 12 again. Creation of the Department of Education in 1980 raised the number to 13. Creation of the Department of Veterans' Affairs in 1989 raised the number to 14.
Cabinet Members Under George Washington
| Secretary of
State |
Thomas
Jefferson, 1789
Edmund Randolph, 1794
Timothy Pickering, 1795 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Alexander
Hamilton, 1789
Oliver Wolcott, Jr., 1795 |
| Secretary of
War |
Henry Knox,
1789
Timothy Pickering, 1795
James McHenry, 1796 |
| Attorney
General |
Edmund
Randolph, 1789
William Bradford, 1794
Charles Lee, 1795 |
Cabinet Members Under John Adams
| Secretary of
State |
Timothy
Pickering (Cont.)
John Marshall, 1800 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Oliver
Wolcott, Jr. (Cont.)
Samuel Dexter, 1801 |
| Secretary of
War |
James
McHenry (Cont.)
Samuel Dexter, 1800 |
| Attorney
General |
Charles Lee
(Cont.) |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
Benjamin
Stoddert, 1798 |
Cabinet Members Under Thomas Jefferson
| Secretary of
State |
James
Madison, 1801 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Samuel
Dexter (Cont.)
Albert Gallatin, 1801 |
| Secretary of
War |
Henry
Dearborn, 1801 |
| Attorney
General |
Levi
Lincoln, 1801
Robert Smith, 1805
John Breckinridge, 1805
Caesar A. Rodney, 1807 |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
Benjamin
Stoddert (Cont.)
Robert Smith, 1801 |
Cabinet Members Under James Madison
| Secretary of
State |
Robert
Smith, 1809
James Monroe, 1811 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Albert
Gallatin (Cont.)
George W. Campbell, 1814
Alexander J. Dallas, 1814
William H. Crawford, 1816 |
| Secretary of
War |
William
Eustis, 1809
John Armstrong, 1813
James Monroe, 1814
William H. Crawford, 1815 |
| Attorney
General |
Caesar A.
Rodney (Cont.)
William Pinckney, 1811
Richard Rush, 1814 |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
Paul
Hamilton, 1809
William Jones, 1813
B. W. Crowninshield, 1814 |
Cabinet Members Under James
Monroe
| Secretary of
State |
John Quincy
Adams, 1817 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
William H.
Crawford (Cont.) |
| Secretary of
War |
John C.
Calhoun, 1817 |
| Attorney
General |
Richard Rush
(Cont.)
William Wirt, 1817 |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
B. W.
Crowninshield (Cont.)
Smith Thompson, 1818
Samuel L. Southard, 1823 |
Cabinet Members Under John Quincy Adams
| Secretary of
State |
Henry Clay,
1825 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Richard
Rush, 1825 |
| Secretary of
War |
James
Barbour, 1825
Peter B. Porter, 1828 |
| Attorney
General |
William Wirt
(Cont.) |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
Samuel L.
Southard (Cont.) |
Cabinet Members Under Andrew
Jackson
| Secretary of
State |
Martin Van
Buren, 1829
Edward Livingston, 1831
Louis McLane, 1833
John Forsyth, 1834 |
| Secretary of
the Treasury |
Samuel D.
Ingham, 1829
Louis McLane, 1831
William J. Duane, 1833
Roger B. Taney1, 1833
Levi Woodbury, 1834 |
| Secretary of
War |
John H.
Eaton, 1829
Lewis Cass, 1831 |
| Attorney
General |
John M.
Berrien, 1829
Roger B. Taney, 1831
Benjamin F. Butler, 1833 |
| Postmaster
General2 |
William T.
Barry, 1829
Amos Kendall, 1835 |
| Secretary of
the Navy |
John Branch,
1829
Levi Woodbury, 1831
Mahlon Dickerson, 1834 |
1. Not confirmed by the Senate.
2. The postmaster general did not become a cabinet member until 1829. Earlier postmasters general were: Samuel Osgood (1789), Timothy Pickering (1791), Joseph Habersham (1795), Gideon Granger (1801), Return J. Meigs, Jr. (1814), and John McLean (1823).
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History
