The Process of Government under Jefferson

"This is an oldie, but a goodie. No historian looked more closely at the intricacies of government. I included this book because of Cunningham’s picture of the cabinet’s functioning and because Jefferson had a remarkably effective cabinet. He had very little turnover. He carefully cultivated relationships with cabinet members. Jefferson pulled what he saw as the best from both Washington and Adams’s cabinets to guide him. His cabinet represented and served his presidency well. Cunningham does a great job of showing that. After Washington, most presidents mostly selected cabinet members from their own party. They recognized that it was difficult to have people working towards different outcomes in your administration. There are some key exceptions. Presidents brought in voices from the other party when it made sense to do so. For example, at the start of his third term, Franklin D. Roosevelt brought in Republicans who were aligned with him on how to fight World War II. Although the Republicans didn’t agree with all of Roosevelt’s social and economic policies, they could work together on the war and present a united front. Other presidents adopt that example to present a bipartisan image of their administration. If cabinet members have enough shared values to pursue discreet goals together, it works."