The Cabinet was established in Article II , Section 2 of the United States Constitution to provide a source of key advisors to the President . Today , the Cabinet include the Vice President and 15 executive department . Here ’s a primer on the department , in order of magnitude of their taking over to the Presidency .
Department of State
establish : The Department of State was originally established by the First Congress of the United States as the Department of Foreign Affairs on July 27 , 1789 . The name was changed to the Department of State less than 2 months later on , when Congress authorize an Act to " leave for the dependable guardianship of the turn , Records , and Seal of the United States , and for other purposes . “
First Secretary : After spending the previous 5 years as Minister to France , Thomas Jefferson served underGeorge Washingtonfrom 1790 until 1793 . Jefferson reconcile over a disagreement about whether the U.S. should keep going the French in the French Revolution . He require to back the French ; Alexander Hamilton put up the British ; and Washington , whose military career begin with the French and Indian War , choose for neutrality .
Mission : Develop foreign insurance , forward motion freedom , and create a secure and beneficial world for the American masses and the external community .
noteworthy : Six men " “ Jefferson , James Madison , James Monroe , John Quincy Adams , Martin Van Buren , and James Buchanan " “ serve as Secretary of State before becoming President .
Department of the Treasury
First Secretary : Alexander Hamilton serve under Washington from 1789 - 1795 . During that time , he instituted a plan for paying back the country ’s monolithic state of war debt , which helped constitute the United States ' credibility abroad . Hamilton also helped establish the First Bank of the United States in 1791 . Ironically , he resigned his billet to connect the New York cake because he was n’t make enough money .
missionary work : pull in revenue ( the IRS is the largest of Treasury ’s bureaus ) , produce money , and formulate economic insurance policy .
Notable : The Treasury is responsible for for producing all of the currentness and coinage in the United States . The Treasury building is depicted on one side of the $ 10 nib ; Hamilton is on the other .
Department of Defense
First Secretary : Henry Knox was the first Secretary of War , while James Forrestal , an airman in World War I , was named the first Secretary of Defense in 1947 . Suffering from major slump , Forrestal committed suicide two months after quit his status in 1949 .
Mission : Provide the military power needed to dissuade warfare and protect the security measure of the United States .
Notable : Donald Rumsfeld is both the youngest and oldest person to serve as Secretary of Defense . He was 43 when Gerald Ford named him Secretary of Defense in 1975 , and after being re - appointed by George W. Bush in 2001 , dish until he was 74 .
Department of Justice
First Attorney General : George Washington appointed Edmund Jennings Randolph , who had previously served as Governor of Virginia , the first Attorney General of the United States on September 26 , 1789 .
commission : Enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States accord to the law , preclude and ascendance crime , and seek just punishment for criminals .
Notable : The beginning of the FBI can be hunt to a force of Special Agents established by Attorney General Charles Bonaparte in 1908 .
Department of the Interior
First Secretary : Zachary Taylor named Thomas Ewing , who had previously process as Secretary of the Treasury under William Henry Harrison and John Tyler , the first Secretary of the Interior .
missionary station : Protect and provide admission to our nation ’s born and cultural inheritance and honor our trust responsibilities to Indian Tribes and our commitment to island community of interests .
Notable : The U.S. Geological Survey and National Parks Service , bureaus of the DOI , were created in 1879 and 1916 , severally . The department ’s oldest agency , the Bureau of Indian Affairs , manages over 66 million acres of soil and was create in 1824 under the Department of War .
Department of Agriculture
First Secretary : The department was n’t elevated to Cabinet position until the last class of Grover Cleveland ’s first term in 1889 . Norman Jay Coleman , who croak into farming after receiving his law degree , served as the first Secretary of Agriculture for all of 3 weeks under Cleveland before President - elect Benjamin Harrison appointed his own writing table .
Mission : Formulate insurance policy on agriculture , food , and raw imagination , maintain food safety , and battle hunger worldwide .
Notable : Public outrage at the unsanitary conditions at Chicago meatpacking plants described in Upton Sinclair’sThe Jungleprompted the 1906 Meat Inspection Act .
Department of Commerce
First Secretary : Woodrow Wilson appointed William C. Redfield , a representative from New York , the first Secretary of Commerce . The first Secretary of Commerce and Labor was George B. Cortelyou .
Mission : Foster , serve , and promote the nation ’s economical exploitation and technological onward motion .
noted : succeeding President Herbert Hoover was the longest - serving Secretary of Commerce . During his 7 + age in the position , Hoover expanded the government ’s " Own Your Own Home" safari , which promoted home ownership among the nation ’s growing hands .
Department of Labor
First Secretary : William B. Wilson was name by Woodrow Wilson ( no relation ) as the first Secretary of Labor and helped the United States call up an good workforce to indorse the troops overseas during World War I.
Mission : Assure body of work safety , fair earnings , and unemployment insurance benefits .
Notable : Frances Perkins , who serve as Secretary of Labor from 1933 - 1945 , was the first distaff Cabinet - storey secretaire in U.S. history . The Labor Department ’s building is call after her .
Department of Health and Human Services
First Secretary : Oveta Culp Hobby , a first command officer of the Women ’s Army Corps , was the first Secretary of Health , Education and Welfare .
Mission : Protect the wellness of all Americans and put up of the essence human table service , especially for those who are least able to help themselves .
Notable : Patricia R. Harris , who was secretary when the department ’s name change in 1980 under Jimmy Carter , was the first African - American woman to dish out in a Cabinet placement .
Department of Housing and Urban Development
First Secretary : Robert C. Weaver , a Harvard alum , became the first African - American to do in the U.S. Cabinet when Johnson appointed him as the first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development .
Mission : Increase home possession , support community development , and increase access to low-cost trapping .
Notable : President John F. Kennedy tried to establish a similar department in 1962 through legislation and his reorganization powers , but was block in both instances by Congress .
Department of Transportation
First Secretary : Under the direction of Alan Stephenson Boyd , who served in the position from 1967 - 1969 , the DOT issued the first national safety and federal motor vehicle standards .
Mission : see a fast , safe , effective , accessible , and convenient exile organisation .
Notable : Among the many obligation transferred to the DOT when it was demonstrate was oversight of daytime saving time .
Department of Energy
First Secretary : James Schlesinger , who served as Secretary of Defense under Richard Nixon and was ignore by Gerald Ford for rebelliousness , was appoint the first Secretary of Energy .
Mission : get ahead the home , economic , and vigor security of the United States and advance scientific and technological innovation .
Department of Education
First Secretary : Shirley Hufstedler , who assist Stanford Law School and was one of President Ford ’s nominee to replace Justice William O. Douglas on the Supreme Court , was list the first Secretary of Education after she process as Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit .
Mission : Foster excellency and equal access by establishing policies on Union financial economic aid for education , give out and monitor financial aid , and collect datum on the nation ’s schools .
Notable : President Ronald Reagan vowed to eliminate the Department of Education as a Cabinet - level section and appointed T.H. Bell as Secretary of Education with that finish in mind , but both men struggled to struggle for its abolishment without appearing anti - education .
Department of Veterans Affairs
First Secretary : President - elect George H.W. Bush named Edward J. Derwinski , a World War II veteran , as the first Secretary of Veterans Affairs .
Mission : Care for the commonwealth ’s veterans , issue checks for impairment , education and pensions , and supervise national cemeteries .
celebrated : The Department of Veterans Affairs is the body politic ’s second - declamatory Union agency . In financial year 2008 , the section put up $ 38.9 billion in disability recompense , death recompense , and pension to 3.7 million people .
Department of Homeland Security
First Secretary : Tom Ridge , Governor of Pennsylvania , was the first Director of Homeland Security .
Mission : Secure the res publica and preserve America ’s exemption while preparing to answer to all hazards and disaster .
Notable : FEMA , which had operated as an independent delegacy since 1979 , was one of the agencies absorbed by DHS .
