Washington knew he couldn’t make all the decisions of the executive branch by himself. So, he appointed advisors – the Secretary of State, the Secretary of the Treasury, the Secretary of War, and Attorney General. All together they were known as the Cabinet. Washington picked the very best people he could find. For Attorney General (head lawyer), he chose Edmond Randolph. Randolph served on the Continental Congress and served as a private lawyer for Washington on several issues. For Secretary of War, he chose Henry Knox. Knox had fought in all the major battles of the American Revolution (from Bunker Hill to Yorktown) and also served as Secretary of War under the Articles of Confederation. For Secretary of State, he needed a man who knew a lot about foreign relations, so he chose Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson served in the Virginia House of Burgesses, wrote the Declaration of Independence, and served as the American diplomat to France until the outbreak of the French Revolution. He needed a good financial advisor, so he chose Alexander Hamilton to be Secretary of the Treasury. Hamilton had fought in numerous battles of the Revolution, supported ratifying the Constitution, and wrote 51 of the 85 Federalist Papers, supporting a strong central government. Hamilton and Jefferson were brilliant men, but their ideas clashed. They wanted to do the best for their country; they just disagreed on what was best.