The Confederate Jurist

Abstract

This is the first biography, written from a legal perspective, on the public life of Judah P Benjamin (1811-1884); one of the giants of the common law world in the second half of the 19th century. It charts his meteoric rise as an American lawyer first in the mixed legal system of Louisiana and then nationally. In 1853 he was the first person of Jewish heritage to be offered nomination to the US Supreme Court – an honour he declined. Benjamin was also a member of the US Senate, a slave owner and a supporter of Southern secession. In the Civil War he served continuously in the Confederate Cabinet initially as Attorney General, then as Secretary of War and finally as Secretary of State. Following the victory of the Union he fled America, a fugitive. In political exile in England he requalified as a Barrister. Within a decade he had written a scholarly and long enduring treatise on commercial law and become the undisputed advocate of choice in appeals before the House of Lords and the Privy Council. This work considers the extraordinary career of this distinguished and complex jurist and reflects upon his legacy