Bruce Simmons

After being sworn in on April 30, 1789, on the balcony of New York City’s Federal Hall, George Washington waited until September to choose the four key department heads who would help him do his job as the head of the Executive Branch of our new federal government.

By that time James Madison, the most prominent author of the Constitution, had won approval to call the department heads secretaries (from the British tradition for those who keep secrets), who meet in a safe room (from the British tradition called a cabinet) to discuss major issues. One of the first orders of business was the national debt.

As Henry Knox, the secretary of war, and Washington listened to the debate between Alexander Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury, and Thomas Jefferson, secretary of stat

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