Mr Benjamin's Sword

Plot

Judah Philip Benjamin (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was an American politician and lawyer. He was born a British subject in the West Indies, became a citizen of the United States and then the Confederate States of America. After the collapse of the Confederacy, he settled in England and died in France.

During his career in U.S. politics, Benjamin was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives and a U.S. Senator from Louisiana; he was second Jewish senator in U.S. history. Following the formation of the Confederate States of America, he held three different Cabinet posts in the government of Jefferson Davis. He was the first Jewish Cabinet-member in a North American government, and the first Jew seriously considered for nomination to the U.S. Supreme Court (he declined an offer of nomination twice). Following his relocation to Europe, he was a distinguished barrister and Queen's Counsel in the United Kingdom.