Benjamin, J. P. (Judah Philip), 1811-1884
Name Entries
person
Benjamin, J. P. (Judah Philip), 1811-1884
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
Benjamin
Forename :
J. P.
NameExpansion :
Judah Philip
Date :
1811-1884
eng
Latn
authorizedForm
rda
בנימין, יהודה פיליפ, 1811-1884
Computed Name Heading
Name Components
Surname :
בנימין
Forename :
יהודה פיליפ
Date :
1811-1884
heb
Hebr
Genders
Male
Exist Dates
Biographical History
Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a lawyer and politician who was a United States Senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English barrister. Benjamin was the first Jew to hold a Cabinet position in North America and the first to be elected to the United States Senate who had not renounced his faith.
Benjamin was born to Sephardic Jewish parents from London, who had moved to St. Croix in the Danish West Indies when it was occupied by Britain during the Napoleonic Wars. Seeking greater opportunities, his family immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Charleston, South Carolina. Judah Benjamin attended Yale College but left without graduating. He moved to New Orleans, where he read law and passed the bar.
Benjamin rose rapidly both at the bar and in politics. He became a wealthy planter and slaveowner and was elected to and served in both houses of the Louisiana legislature prior to his election by the legislature to the US Senate in 1852. There, he was an eloquent supporter of slavery. After Louisiana seceded in 1861, Benjamin resigned as senator and returned to New Orleans.
He soon moved to Richmond after Confederate President Jefferson Davis appointed him as Attorney General. Benjamin had little to do in that position, but Davis was impressed by his competence and appointed him as Secretary of War. Benjamin firmly supported Davis, and the President reciprocated the loyalty by promoting him to Secretary of State in March 1862, while Benjamin was being criticized for the rebel defeat at the Battle of Roanoke Island.
As Secretary of State, Benjamin attempted to gain official recognition for the Confederacy by France and the United Kingdom, but his efforts were ultimately unsuccessful. To preserve the Confederacy as military defeats made its situation increasingly desperate, he advocated freeing and arming the slaves late in the war, but his proposals were only partially accepted in the closing month of the war. When Davis fled the Confederate capital of Richmond in early 1865, Benjamin went with him. He left the presidential party and was successful in escaping from the mainland United States, but Davis was captured by Union troops. Benjamin sailed to Great Britain, where he settled and became a barrister, again rising to the top of his profession before retiring in 1883. He died in Paris the following year.
eng
Latn
External Related CPF
https://viaf.org/viaf/56694284
https://www.worldcat.org/identities/lccn-n50008111
https://id.loc.gov/authorities/n50008111
https://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q466115
Other Entity IDs (Same As)
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Languages Used
eng
Latn
fre
Latn
Subjects
Booksellers and bookselling
Publishers and publishing
Slavery
United States
African Americans
African Americans
American Confederate voluntary exiles
Amory, Nathaniel C
Benjamin, Judah Philip
Boundaries, State
Business enterprises
Confederate States of America
Cotton trade
Decedents' estates
Dinners and dining
Diplomatic and consular service, American
Directors of corporations
Free African Americans
Jewish lawyers
Jewish statesmen
Jews
Jews, Southern States
Lancers
Law
Lawyers
Lawyers
Lawyers
Legislators
Mexico. Treaties, etc. United States, 1853 Dec. 30
Military service, Voluntary
Money
Practice of law
Presidents
Presidents
Public speaking
Railroads
Real estate
Senators, U.S. Congress
Slavery in the United States
Slaves
Starr, James Harper
Tehuantepec Railroad Company of New Orleans
Young men
Nationalities
Britons
Americans
Activities
Occupations
Teachers
Cabinet officers
Jewish legislators
Lawyers
Lawyers
Lawyers
Lawyers
Newspaper employees
Plantation owners
Senators, U.S. Congress
Slaveholders
State Representative
Legal Statuses
Places
Saint Croix
010, VI
AssociatedPlace
Birth
Fayetteville
NC, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Richmond
VA, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Paris
A8, FR
AssociatedPlace
Death
Charleston
SC, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
New Orleans
LA, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
London
ENG, GB
AssociatedPlace
Residence
New Haven
CT, US
AssociatedPlace
Residence
Convention Declarations
<conventionDeclaration><citation>VIAF</citation></conventionDeclaration>