On December 8, President-Elect Joseph Biden announced he was nominating General Lloyd Austin III as his pick for Secretary of Defense. Immediately the pundits churned out articles in favor or against this choice, but most observers are a bit more undecided — myself included.

For more than two centuries, the vice president has held little power, despite the position’s prominence. That may be changing, but the story of the No. 2 job in America is full of historical quirks.

It helps Americans feel invested in an administration and provides a president with differing viewpoints.

McConnell’s pre-inauguration bluster is extremely unusual and highlights the importance of the Georgia Senate runoff races.

As we’ve seen in the last four years, Trump can easily foster chaos, endanger the lives of Americans and our allies, undermine trust in institutions and set back national security for decades to come. None of that will change because there is a new President-elect.

Worried we may have to wait to find out whether Biden or Trump won? In 1800, election results were delayed for months. And don’t forget 2000, when legal battles prolonged the final results until Dec. 12.

Trump’s nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to fill the vacancy left by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg reflects a long history of presidents’ efforts to define the Supreme Court, beginning with George Washington.

Before he was our fifth president, Monroe was Virginia’s governor at a time when yellow fever was deadly and hard to control. Setting aside ideology, he prevented a health crisis despite his disdain for strong government.

The Constitution gives the Senate power to ensure that competent, experienced secretaries lead executive departments.

If Biden wins the election in November, his Cabinet will represent an opportunity to rally underrepresented groups and interests around his administration.

Washington supported a much more limited conception of executive privilege.

Places of memory up and down the East Coast also witnessed acts of resistance and oppression

Access to the White House reflects core American values that date back to George Washington

On April 19, 1793, President George Washington convened his department secretaries for a cabinet meeting that would ultimately lodge the authority for foreign diplomacy in the executive branch rather than Congress.

Teaching United States History is excited to present Teach My Book, a series of posts where distinguished authors reflect on their work and how instructors might integrate their insights into the classroom. Our thoughts today come from Lindsay Chervinsky, Historian at the White House Historical Association. Dr. Chervinsky is discussing her new book The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution (Harvard 2020).

The cabinet precedents George Washington established have largely guided his successors, and they determine whether a president is remembered by history as a success or failure.