Owners and Tenants, 1819-1956
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Judah P. Benjamin
(tenant, 1858-1861)
The illustrious Judah P. Benjamin stands as the only U.S. Senator to live at Decatur House. Despit his poor background, Benjamin established himself in New Orleans as a lawyer and married prominent socialite Natalie St. Martin. After gaining distinction for writing a digest of Louisiana law, Benjamin began a life of politics and was elected to Congress, becoming the first Jewish-American to sit in the Senate.
Just before Benjamin moved
to Decatur House, Louisianans had re-elected him to the Senate during
an 1858 race that resulted in Republican control of
the House of Representatives. Benjamin and fellow Democratic senators
voted down all attempts by the House to legislate against slavery, while
President James Buchanan allowed the Supreme Court to make judgments
on the issue.
The election of anti-slavery Republican Abraham Lincoln in November 1860, prompted South Carolina to secede that December. On New Year’s Eve, Benjamin delivered a speech on States’ Rights and the right of secession. Though not a supporter of secession himself, Benjamin left the Senate when Louisiana seceded, and made a short farewell speech in Congress while carrying a pistol at his side. He left Washington and Decatur House for Richmond to become the Secretary of War for Confederate President Jefferson Davis, and went on to serve as Secretary of State for the Confederacy. After the war, Benjamin immigrated to England where he became a famous barrister – thus making him one of the few Americans to serve three different national governments.
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