Benjamin, Judah P. The Right of Secession. Speech of Hon. J.P. Benjamin of La. Delivered in (the) Senate of the United States on December 31st, 1860

In 1852 Judah P. Benjamin became the first professing Jew to be elected to the United States Senate. Initially a Whig, he became a Democrat in 1856 after the Democratic Party espoused the cause of Southern rights. He was a leading member of the school of Southern politicians who favored succession from the Union as the only safeguard for Southern survival. Upon the succession of the State of Louisiana, Benjamin withdrew from the Senate to join, as senior member, President Jefferson Davis’ Confederate Cabinet