User blog:JonathanMarkoff/Secretary of War/the Navy/Defense of the United States (for my amusement)

The Secretary of War was a member of the United States 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.

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 President pro tem of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and the Secretary of State.

In 1947, with the passing of a National Security Act, 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.

The Secretary of Defense is the leader and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense, the executive department of the Armed Forces of the United States of America. The Secretary of Defense's position of authority over the United States' military is second only to that of the President and Congress. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in many other countries. The Secretary of Defense is appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate, and is by custom a member of the Cabinet and by law a member of the National Security Council.

Several Secretaries of War, the Navy, and Defense appear in the fiction of Harry Turtledove. In addition to the alternate history stories and speculative future stories listed below, there are stories which reference Secretaries who either died before the point of divergence or did not do anything relevant after it.

In some timelines with a POD before 1947, the National Security Act, so the split between the War and Navy departments continues, and there is no Secretary of Defense.

=Secretary of War=