Benjamin, Judah P

Benjamin, Judah P

▪ American politician
born Aug. 6, 1811, St. Croix, Virgin Islands
died May 6, 1884, Paris, Fr.
 prominent lawyer in the United States before the American Civil War (1861–65) and in England after that conflict; he also held high offices in the government of the Confederate States of America. The first professing Jew elected to the U.S. Senate (1852; reelected 1858), he is said to have been the most prominent American Jew during the 19th century.

      Born a British subject (St. Croix was then a part of the British Virgin Islands), Benjamin was taken to the United States in his early youth, settling in Charleston, S.C. For two years (1825–27) he studied law at Yale University and then settled in New Orleans, La. He was admitted to the Louisiana bar in 1832, and his practice became extremely successful in the fields of commercial and insurance law. He also prospered for a time as a sugar planter, helped to organize the Illinois Central Railroad, and was elected to the Louisiana legislature in 1842. In the U.S. Senate he was noted for his proslavery speeches. After his state had seceded from the Union, he was appointed attorney general in the Confederate government (Feb. 21, 1861). Later that year he was named secretary of war by his friend President Jefferson Davis. It was charged that his mismanagement of the war office led to several major military defeats, and he resigned, but Davis promptly named him secretary of state (Feb. 7, 1862). Late in the war he enraged many white Southerners by urging that slaves be recruited into the Confederate Army and emancipated after their term of service.

      At the end of the Civil War Benjamin escaped to England, where he was called to the bar (June 1866) after only five months' residence and where he achieved his greatest professional success. In 1872 he became a queen's counsel. His Treatise on the Law of Sale of Personal Property (1868) was the principal textbook on its subject for many years in England and the United States.

Additional Reading
Eli N. Evans, Judah P. Benjamin: The Jewish Confederate (1988), examines Benjamin in the contexts of both Southern Jewish and Civil War history.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • BENJAMIN, JUDAH PHILIP — (1811–1884), U.S. lawyer and statesman. Benjamin was undoubtedly the most prominent 19th century American Jew. He was a noted lawyer, whose services were requested in connection with some of the most significant legal disputes of the time, a… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Benjamin,Judah Philip — Benjamin, Judah Philip. 1811 1884. British born American politician who served as Confederate secretary of war (1861 1862) and secretary of state (1862 1865). * * * …   Universalium

  • Benjamin, Judah P(hilip) — born Aug. 6, 1811, St. Croix, Virgin Islands died May 6, 1884, Paris, France Prominent lawyer in the U.S. and Britain and member of the Confederate cabinet. He moved with his parents from St. Croix to South Carolina in his early youth. In 1832 he …   Universalium

  • Benjamin, Judah P(hilip) — (6 ago. 1811, Sta. Cruz, islas Vírgenes– 6 may. 1884, París, Francia). Destacado jurista en EE.UU. y Gran Bretaña, miembro del gabinete confederado. Siendo muy joven se trasladó con sus padres desde Sta. Cruz hasta Carolina del Sur. En 1832… …   Enciclopedia Universal

  • Benjamin, Judah Philip — (1811–84)    US lawyer and statesman. Born to British parents in the Virgin Islands, Benjamin became a successful South Carolina lawyer. In 1852 he was the first professing Jew to be elected to the US Senate. When Louisiana seceded from the Union …   Who’s Who in Jewish History after the period of the Old Testament

  • Benjamin, Judah Philip — (1818 84)    American lawyer and statesman. He was born in the Virgin Islands. He was elected to the US Senate in 1852. In 1861 he became attorney general of the Confederate government and later served as secretary of state until the collapse of… …   Dictionary of Jewish Biography

  • JUDAH — (Heb. יְהוּדָה), fourth son of Jacob and Leah. The biblical explanation of the name Judah connects it with thanksgiving and praise (Heb. אוֹדֶה, oʾdeh; Gen. 29:35). However, if one compares the names Judith (Gen. 26:34) and Jahdai (I Chron. 2:47) …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Judah P. Benjamin — Judah Benjamin …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Benjamin (Name) — Benjamin ist ein männlicher Vorname, der auch als Nachname vorkommt. Inhaltsverzeichnis 1 Varianten 2 Etymologie 3 Bekannte Namensträger 3.1 Vorname 3.2 Familienname …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Judah Philip Benjamin — Judah Philip Benjamin. Judah Philip Benjamin (6 de agosto de 1811, St. Croix 6 de mayo de 1884, París) fue un destacado jurisconsulto estadounidense, que fue miembro del gabinete confederado. Siendo muy joven se mudó con sus padres a Carolina del …   Wikipedia Español

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