On February 25, 1793, Washington held his first full Cabinet meeting with Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of the Treasury Alexander Hamilton, Secretary of War Henry Knox and Attorney General Edmund Randolph. Once in power, the two men immediately made it known that they would never really see eye to eye. Hamilton, a strong supporter of a strong central government, believed that he should limit democracy and make the United States a powerful nation. “This has been observed. . . that a pure democracy, if it were feasible, would be the most perfect government. Experience has proven that no position is more false than this. (Hamilton, speech calling for the ratification of the Constitution in New York on June 17, 1788). He turned to Article I, Section 8, Clause 18 of the Constitution, which authorizes Congress to have the power "to make all laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into effect the above powers, and all other powers vested in this Constitution in the government of the United States, or in any department or officer thereof. use it to make America; this was also known as the Elastic Clause or, as he called it, Broad Construction. In order to expand powers, he interpreted the meaning of the Constitution broadly. Jefferson could not fight against any of Hamilton's ideals. He believed in strict construction. He