Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1869-03-06
THE CABINET.
when the Deparfm snfs were Organ
fzed and who have been the COnsti-
tutiOnal Advisers of our Presidents
since the Formation Of the Govern
m2Hf


fzed and who have been the COnS1
tutiOnal Advisers of orr Preslden
since the Formation of the Govern
a ment
q 1t is assumed that every Pres
: dent is bound to give heed to certai
considerations in forming his cab
9 net, and the assumption may be cor
. rect; but in point of fact he is o
S perfect liberty to do pretty much a
he pleases in making cabinet ap
1 pOintments, and if a bold man b
will do So The Senate can confirm
: or reject his nominations but saw
: in extreme cases the Senate con
firms such appointments, as Sena
tors recognise the justice of tn,
argument, that, as the President il
responsible for what is done by hi
advisers he should be allowed thu
largest possible liberty in selecting
them. The Senate rejected Mr.
fancy, when he was nominated fol
the office of Secretary of the Treas
ury, in 1884 but the circumstances
of his case were peculiar, as the fact
that he had been appointed to dc
what Mr.. Duane would not do
namely y, remove the deposits from
the United States Bank, was well
known; and it was held by all the
Wings, and by some Democrats.
that he was nothing but a mere tool
| Of President Jackson-and his
nomination was not confirmed, the
negative vote being twice as large
as the vote in favor of his nomina-
ton.
The cabinet, though an institu-
ton, and, as we see, q very strong
institution, has no legal existence
1t is neither named nor alluded to
in the national constitution, and
| there is in that instrument only q
few words that can be said to refer
to such body even by the remot-
est implication. In article ii, Sec
ton 2, it is provided that the Presi-
dent Of the United States may
require the opinion, in writing, of
the principal officer in each Of the
executive departments, upon any
subject relating to the duties of
their respective offices" Out of
these few simple words has grown
that powerful body which is known
to the country as the cabinet, but
which is unknown to the cOnstitu-
ton and the law.
But while the cabinet is unknown
to the law, the Offices that must be
filled by the men who compose it
are all creations Of the law. The
Department of State is a continue
ton of the old Department of For
eign Affairs, of revolutionary crea-
ton. In 1889, it was provided by
the first Congress that the Depart
ment of Foreign Affairs should
thereafter be denominated the De-
partment Of State. The office of
Assistant Secretary of State was
created in 1853. There have been
twenty-five Secretaries of State,
namely: Thomas Jefferson, Ed
mund Randolph, Timothy Picker
ing, John Marshall, James Madi-
son, Robert Smith, James Monroe,
John Quincy Adams, Henry Clay,
Martin Van Buren,, Edward Liv-
ingston, Lewis MeLane, John For
syth, Daniel Webster, Abel P.
Upshur, John c. Calhoun, James
Buchanan, John NJ. Clayton, Ed
ward Everett, VIM. L. Marcy, Low
is Cass, and VIM. II. Seward. The
Secretary of State mas a sort Of
primacy in the cabinet, and bis
post is first among cabinet officers
in general estimation.
The Treasury Department was
established in 1889, and the act of
establishing itprovided that the first
officer in it should be called Secre-
tary of the Treasury, and also that
there should be an Assistant Secre-
tary of the Treasury, but this last
office was abolished, though later
it was re-established. The Secre-
tary of the Treasury reports to
Congress on the subject of the
finances, etc, at the commencement
of every session. There have been
twenty four Secretaries of the
Treasury, namely Alexander Ham
ilton, Oliver WolcOtt, Jr., Samuel
Dexter, Albert Gallatin, George W.
Campbell, A. j. Dallas, VIM. II.
Crawford, Richard Rush, S. d. Ing
ham, Lewis MeLane, VIM. j. Duane,
r. B. fancy, Levi Woodbury., Thorn
as Ewing, Walter Forward, John G.
Spencer, George NJ. Bib, r. J.
Walker, VIM. NJ Meredith, Thomas
Corwin, James Guthrie, Howell
Cobb, S. p. Chase, and Hugh Me-
Culloch. There is something ludi-
crous in the contrast between the
beginningof the list and its close
the first name being that of Hamil-
ton, who is one of the greatest ge-
muses. Of all time.
The Department Of War was es-
tablished in 1889, the principal
officer to be called Secretary for the
Department of War. There have
been twenty-nine Secretaries of
War, namely, Henry Knox, limo
thy Pickering, James McHenry,
John Marshall, Samuel Dexter,
Roger GriswOld, Henry Dearborn,
VIM. Estis, John Armstrong, James
Monroe, VIM. II. Crawford, John G..
Calhoun, James Barbour, p. b. POr-
ter, John III. Eaton. Lewis Cass, Jo-
ell II. POinsett, John Bell, John C..
Spencer, James NJ. Porter, VIM.
wilkins, VIM. l.. Marcy, Geo. w.
Crawford, C. NJ. Conrad, Jefferson
Davis, John B. Floyd, Simeon Cam
erOn, f. M. Stanton and Gen. Soho
field.
The Department of the Navy
was established in 1898, the chief
officer to be called Secretary of the
Navy. The number of Secretaries
Of the Navy is twenty-six, namely !:
George Cabot, Benjamin StO ldart,
Robert Smith, Jacob CrOwnin-
shield, Paul Hamilton, VIM. Jones,
B.W. Crowninshield, Smith Thomp
son, John Rodgers, S. l.. Southland,
John Branch, Levi Woodbury.,
Mahlon Dickerson, ]. X. Paulding,
Il
G. E. Badger, A P. Upshur, David
Henshaw, Thos. W. Gilmer, John
Y. Mason, George Bancroft, VIM.