Antebellum Political Characters: Derbigny and Benjamin

» davidm1227 - Judah Benjamin

There are some factual errors in the article about Judah P. Benjamin.

First, when his family immigrated to the US in about 1813, they settled in Wilmington NC, then Fayetteville, NC, then in about 1821, Charleston SC -- they never lived in Savannah.

Second, Benjamin entered Yale at age 14, but did not graduate; in fact, he was kicked out three years later. The reason is in dispute: Yankee propaganda at the beginning of the War Between the States said it was for petty theft; his roommate after the war said it was for gambling.

Third, he was in fact the first Jew elected to the US Senate. A colleague elected at about the same time, David Levy Yulee from Florida, was born and raised as a Jew but converted to Christianity before he was elected to the Senate. Benjamin also turned down appointments to serve on the US Supreme Court and as ambassador to Spain before he left the Senate.

Finally, you state that he was "the" Queen's Counsel in England, like he was the only one and your reference in the first paragraph to serving the Queen implies that this is some sort of office, like Attorney General. In the British bar Queen's Counsel is a distinction for accomplished barristers who are licensed by the Queen (or King, if that be the monarch) to practice before the country's highest court, which is the House of Lords. It's like being licensed in the US to argue cases before the Supreme Court. It was quite an accomplishment for Benjamin, but he was not the only one. In that office, he actually served his clients, not the Queen.

-- posted by davidm1227

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» StCatherine - Re: Judah Benjamin

In response to message posted by davidm1227:

It would be nice if you shared your credentials with us. One of my primary sources for this article was the U. S. Congressional biography site. Without your credentials neither my readers nor myself can judge which source is better.

Thanks for coming by, though.

-- posted by StCatherine

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» Perkoff - Re: Re: Judah Benjamin

In response to message posted by StCatherine:

I am a practising English Barrister and an history enthusiast with a particular interest in the War between the States.

I should like to confirm the accuracy of the last paragraph of davidm1227's comments, subject to one qualification. There is no such thing as the "British Bar". The United Kingdom does not have a unified legal system. There are separate, though similar, systems for England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland respectively.
Judah P. Benjamin was called to the English Bar (which includes Wales).

I have seen the mistaken identification of "Q.C." as some kind of public office on a number of websites relating to Benjamin. The references to Benjamin's legal career in England on the US Congressional Biography website are accurate, but uninformative.

I am seriously considering writing up Benjamin's distinguished legal career in England.
Regards,
Richard Perkoff

-- posted by Perkoff

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» StCatherine - Re: Re: Re: Judah Benjamin

In response to message posted by Perkoff:

If you write about Benjamin on the web, let us know so we can read your pages. I'm sure they would be most interesting.

Thanks for taking the time to post!!! : )

-- posted by StCatherine

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