evidence: Each executive appointment provided a test of whether the new American republic had truly dispensed with the old European ways of doing business. As a result, Washington held all potential appointees to the same high standards, regardless of their personal or professional connection to him. [...] George Washington's approach to appointments led naturally to his management style for the executive branch. Having chosen the most talented officials, he allowed them to do their jobs. Washington created a cabinet-style government, a concept not in the Constitution, based on the experience of using a close circle of advisors in his war councils during the Revolution. While the current presidential cabinet includes sixteen members, George Washington’s cabinet included just four original members: Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox, and Attorney General Edmund Randolph.