| Cabinet of Jefferson Davis | |
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.jpg) Last meeting of the Confederate cabinet | |
| Cabinet overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | February 18, 1861 (1861-02-18) |
| Dissolved | May 10, 1865 (1865-05-10) |
| Type | Advisory body |
| Employees | 7 members:
|
| Cabinet executives | |
TheCabinet of theConfederate States of America, commonly called theConfederate cabinet orCabinet ofJefferson Davis, was part of the executive branch of the federal government of the Confederate States that existed between 1861 and 1865. The members of the Cabinet were thevice president and heads of the federal executive departments.
The cabinet was largely modeled on theCabinet of the United States, with its members overseeing a State Department, Treasury Department, War Department, and Post Office Department. However, unlike theUnion, the Confederacy lacked aDepartment of the Interior, and created a Justice Department (the position ofU.S. Attorney General existed, but theU.S. Department of Justice was only created in 1870, after the end of theCivil War).[1]
The Confederate cabinet was ineffective. Like theConfederate Congress, its membership was undistinguished, in contrast withLincoln's Cabinet, which included highly talented men.[2]Confederate PresidentJefferson Davis made many of his initial selections to the Cabinet on the basis of political considerations; his choices "Were dictated by the need to assure the various states that their interests were being represented in the government."[3] Moreover, much Confederate talent went into the military rather than the Cabinet, and the cabinet suffered from frequent turnover and reshuffling. Sixteen different men served in the six Cabinet posts during the four years of the Confederacy's existence.[4] The most talented—but also the most unpopular—member of the Cabinet wasJudah P. Benjamin.[3][5][6] Among the weakest cabinet secretaries was Treasury SecretaryChristopher Memminger, who had little experience with fiscal policy; Memminger was placed at the Treasury by Davis due to the influence ofSouth Carolinians, because Memminger had been an influential supporter of that state'ssecession.[3] Civil War historianAllen C. Guelzo describes the first Confederate secretaries of war and state,LeRoy Pope Walker ofAlabama andRobert Toombs ofGeorgia, respectively—as "brainless political appointees."[3]
The cabinet's performance suffered due to Davis's inability to delegate and propensity tomicromanage his Cabinet officers.[7] Davis consulted with the Cabinet frequently—meeting with individual cabinet secretaries almost every day and convening meetings of the full Cabinet two or three times a week—but these meetings, which could stretch to five hours or more, "rarely saw anything accomplished."[8] Secretary of the NavyStephen Mallory lamented that "From [Davis's] uncontrollable tendency to digression," cabinet meetings "consumed four or five hours without determining anything."[9] Many of the cabinet members became frustrated, especially the secretaries of war; after concluding "that they could not get along with Davis's constant interference and micromanagement," many resigned.[10] Nine of the eleven Confederate states "had representation in the Cabinet at some point during the life of Confederacy"; only Tennessee and Arkansas never had a Confederate cabinet secretary.[11]
The final meeting of the Confederate cabinet took place inFort Mill, South Carolina, amid the collapse of the Confederacy.[12] Fort Mill was the only place where the full Confederate cabinet met after thefall of Richmond.[13]
| Office | Image | Name | Home state | Dates | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vice President |  | Alexander H. Stephens | Georgia | February 18, 1861 – May 11, 1865 | |
| Secretary of State |  | Robert Toombs | Georgia | February 25, 1861 – July 25, 1861 | |
.jpg) | Robert M. T. Hunter | Virginia | July 25, 1861 – February 18, 1862 | ||
 | William M. Browne | Georgia | February 18, 1862 – March 18, 1862 | ||
 | Judah P. Benjamin | Louisiana | March 18, 1862 – May 10, 1865 | ||
| Secretary of the Treasury | %2c_Secretary_of_Treasury_Confederate_States_of_America.jpg) | Christopher Memminger | South Carolina | February 25, 1861 – July 18, 1864 | |
 | George Trenholm | South Carolina | July 18, 1864 – April 27, 1865 | ||
 | John H. Reagan | Texas | April 27, 1865 – May 10, 1865 | ||
| Secretary of War |  | LeRoy Pope Walker | Alabama | February 25, 1861 – September 16, 1861 | |
| Judah P. Benjamin | Louisiana | September 17, 1861 – March 24, 1862 | ||
 | George W. Randolph | Virginia | March 24, 1862 – November 15, 1862 | ||
 | James Seddon | Virginia | November 21, 1862 – February 5, 1865 | ||
_(14739822666).jpg) | Major-General John C. Breckinridge | Kentucky | February 6, 1865 – May 10, 1865 | ||
| Secretary of the Navy |  | Stephen Mallory | Florida | March 4, 1861 – May 2, 1865 | |
| Postmaster-General | | John H. Reagan | Texas | March 6, 1861 – May 10, 1865 | |
| Attorney-General | | Judah P. Benjamin | Louisiana | February 25, 1861 – September 17, 1861 | |
 | Wade Keyes | Alabama | September 17, 1861 – November 21, 1861 | ||
 | Thomas Bragg | North Carolina | November 21, 1861 – March 18, 1862 | ||
 | Thomas H. Watts | Alabama | March 18, 1862 – October 1, 1863 | ||
| Wade Keyes | Alabama | October 1, 1863 – January 2, 1864 | ||
 | George Davis | North Carolina | January 2, 1864 – April 24, 1865 | ||
| Vice President |
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| Secretary of State |
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| Secretary of the Treasury |
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| Secretary of War |
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| Secretary of the Navy |
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| Postmaster-General |
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| Attorney-General |
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