Lesson 2: The Presidential Cabinet
Duration of Days: 8
Lesson Objective
Students will be able to compare the structure of the first cabinet to the modern-day executive departments and explain how the cabinet has evolved to meet changing national needs.
Why did George Washington feel it was necessary to create a "cabinet" of advisors rather than making all decisions on his own?
How did the professional backgrounds of the first cabinet members (e.g., Jefferson’s foreign experience or Hamilton’s banking background) make them suitable for their specific roles?
How does the expansion of the cabinet from four positions to fifteen reflect the growth and changing priorities of the United States?
Cabinet
Secretary of State, Treasury, War, etc. & Attorney General
Nomination
Foreign Policy
Integrate visual information with other information in print
Conduct short research projects to answer a question, drawing on several sources
Students first learn about the "precedent-setting" first cabinet of George Washington before conducting a deep-dive research project into a modern executive department to understand its impact on daily life.
Use the structured "The First Cabinet" worksheet which provides clear descriptions and example entries for the President and Vice President
The "Cabinet Department Project" poster and oral presentation, graded against a rubric focusing on content accuracy, research neutrality, and visual presentation.