Presidential Trivia Answers (Nov. 15 & 16)

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(1) QUESTION: Which President was the first to have a Cabinet?

ANSWER: George Washington.  His first cabinet had just four members: Secretary of the Treasury (Alexander Hamilton), Secretary of State (Thomas Jefferson), Attorney General (Edmund Randolph), and Secretary of War (Henry Knox).  Mount Vernon explains that “to establish both credibility and balance, George Washington chose a cabinet that included members from different regions of the country.”

(2) QUESTION: Who was President when the first Secretary of Education was appointed?

ANSWER: Jimmy Carter. The Department of Education was established in 1979.  Prior to that time, there was a Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, and education was included within it.

(3) QUESTION: True or False?  The Constitution requires the President to have a Cabinet.

ANSWER: False. The President is, however, authorized to “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.” (Article II, Sec. 2)  This language has been interpreted to authorize the creation of a Cabinet.