Alexander Hamilton became the first United States secretary of the treasury when George Washington formed his cabinet in 1789.
Washington appointed Hamilton to lead the Treasury Department, and the Senate confirmed him on September 11, 1789. Hamilton served until January 1795, establishing many of the department's early practices while the new constitutional government built its financial system.
Hamilton advocated assuming state Revolutionary War debts, funding the national debt, collecting federal revenue, and creating a national bank. His financial program strengthened the federal government's credit but also produced fierce political opposition, particularly from Thomas Jefferson and James Madison.
The Treasury post was one of the original major executive departments created by Congress in 1789. Hamilton's work helped shape the Federalist vision of a strong national government. Robert Morris, sometimes confused with Hamilton in this context, had been superintendent of finance under the Confederation Congress, not Washington's first Treasury secretary.