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The Historical Presidency : George Washington and the First Presidential Cabinet
Author(s) -
Chervinsky Lindsay M.
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
presidential studies quarterly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.337
H-Index - 5
eISSN - 1741-5705
pISSN - 0360-4918
DOI - 10.1111/psq.12387
Subject(s) - cabinet (room) , presidency , presidential system , political science , public administration , george (robot) , law , history , politics , art history , archaeology
Scholars have long focused on President George Washington's dynamic and quarrelsome cabinet. Yet scholars often assume the cabinet played a static role throughout Washington's presidency. This article demonstrates how Washington gradually created the cabinet to provide advice, not fully embracing weekly meetings until faced with an international crisis in 1793. This article also examines how Washington sidelined the cabinet in the final years of his presidency, returning to individual conferences and correspondence. As a result, Washington ensured the cabinet remained institutionally weak and a tool for the president to use at will—a legacy that survives in the twenty‐first century.