Position in the United States Cabinet from 1789 to 1947
"Secretary of War" redirects here. For other uses, see Secretary of War (disambiguation).
United States Secretary of War
Official seal
Flag of the secretary
Longest serving Henry Dearborn March 5, 1801 – March 4, 1809
United States Department of War
Style
Mr. Secretary
Type
Secretary
Status
Abolished
Member of
Cabinet
Reports to
President of the United States
Seat
Washington, D.C.
Appointer
The President with Senate advice and consent
Term length
No fixed term
Precursor
Secretary at War
Formation
September 12, 1789
First holder
Henry Knox
Final holder
Kenneth C. Royall
Abolished
September 18, 1947
Superseded by
Secretary of the Army Secretary of the Air Force
Succession
6th in the line of succession
The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the Confederation under the Articles of Confederation between 1781 and 1789. Benjamin Lincoln and later Henry Knox held the position. When Washington was inaugurated as the first President under the Constitution, he appointed Knox to continue serving as Secretary of War.
The secretary of war was the head of the War Department. At first, he was responsible for all military affairs, including naval affairs. In 1798, the secretary of the Navy was created by statute, and the scope of responsibility for this office was reduced to the affairs of the United States Army. From 1886 onward, the secretary of war was in the line of succession to the presidency, after the vice president of the United States, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the President pro tempore of the Senate and the secretary of state.
In 1947, with the passing of the National Security Act of 1947, the secretary of war was replaced by the secretary of the Army and the secretary of the Air Force, which, along with the secretary of the Navy, have since 1949 been non-Cabinet subordinates under the secretary of defense. The secretary of the Army's office is generally considered the direct successor to the secretary of war's office although the secretary of defense took the secretary of war's position in the Cabinet, and the line of succession to the presidency.
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