Woodrow Wilson’s Original List of His Initial Cabinet Appointments, in His Own Hand

One of the great challenges faced by an incoming president is to select a cabinet. Wilson is no exception, and he pondered who to name from the time of his election until he arrived in Washington on the eve of his inauguration.

On March 3, 1913, Wilson was staying at the Shoreham Hotel in preparation for his inauguration the following day. And on a piece of Shoreham Hotel stationery, he wrote out the men he had selected, their states, and the offices he chose to fill them. He selected as his Cabinet secretaries:

State - William Jennings Bryan, Nebraska. A Democratic Party stalwart who had been twice nominated to run for president. Bryan retained great influence in the party;

Treasury - William Gibbs MacAdoo, New York. Besides being popular in the party, he would marry Wilson’s daughter;

War - Lindley M. Garrison, New Jersey. It turned out he was more willing to intervene militarily overseas than was the President;

Justice - James Clark McReynolds, Tennessee. In 1914, Wilson would appoint McReynolds to the U.S. Supreme Court;

Post Office - Albert Sidney Burleson, Texas;

Interior - Franklin Knight Lane, California;

Navy - Josephus Daniels, North Carolina. Daniels would remain Navy Secretary throughout World War I;

Agriculture - David Franklin Houston, Missouri.

Commerce - William Redfield, New York. He was the nations first Secretary of Commerce.

Labor - William B. Wilson, Pennsylvania.

A memo below the list states that this is the “Original list of Pres. Wilson’s Cabinet in his handwriting, as handed by him to his secretary, Mr. Tumulty for official announcement at the Shoreham Hotel, on evening of March 3, 1913, and given by Mr. Tumulty to Gen. Collins on evening of March 5th, 1913.” The announcement was made using this very sheet of paper. Tumulty was Wilson’s long-time private secretary, and Gen. Collins was probably Gen. E.T. Collins. On March 4, Wilson was inaugurated. The original owner apparently used a separate sheet of hotel letterhead, to which the manuscript list and typed portions are affixed.

This is truly unique, as we have never before seen another list of Cabinet appointments in the hand of a president.