Cabinet

The Constitution, without providing distinctly for a Cabinet, authorizes the President to consult the heads of the departments. Washington thus consulted his Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of War and Attorney-General. The secretaryship of the navy was instituted in 1798, and its incumbent was at once treated as a member of the Cabinet. The Postmasters-General before 1829 were not. The Secretary of the Interior became such at once upon his institution in 1849, the Secretary of Agriculture similarly in 1889.