Benjamin Franklin Jonas (July 19, 1834December 21, 1911) was a Democratic

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

and an officer in the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. He was the third

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

to serve in the Senate. Jonas was also the last Jewish Senator from the

Deep South The Deep South or the Lower South is a cultural and geographic subregion in the Southern United States. The term was first used to describe the states most dependent on plantations and slavery prior to the American Civil War. Following the war ...

until

Jon Ossoff Thomas Jonathan Ossoff ( ; born February 16, 1987) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Georgia since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Ossoff was previously a documentary filmmaker and investigativ ...

won his seat in Georgia in 2021.

Life and career

He was born in Williamsport,

Grant County, Kentucky Grant County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 24,941. Its county seat is Williamstown. The county was formed in 1820 and named for Colonel John Grant, who led a ...

to Abraham Jonas (1801–64), a merchant and lawyer, and Louisa Block. As a boy, he moved with his parents to

Quincy, Illinois Quincy ( ), known as Illinois's "Gem City", is a city in and the county seat of Adams County, Illinois, United States, located on the Mississippi River. The 2020 census counted a population of 39,463 in the city itself, down from 40,633 in 2010. ...

, where his father became a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...

and

postmaster A postmaster is the head of an individual post office, responsible for all postal activities in a specific post office. When a postmaster is responsible for an entire mail distribution organization (usually sponsored by a national government), ...

, and was acquainted with

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

. (In 1864, Lincoln appointed the widowed Mrs. Jonas postmaster in succession to her late husband.) Benjamin attended the public schools in Quincy. In 1853, he moved to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

; his maternal uncle, Abraham Block, was well known there, being an important figure in the nearby Red River settlements. He studied law at the University of Louisiana (now

Tulane University Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...

). In 1855, he graduated, was admitted to the bar, and commenced practice in New Orleans. Despite his family's strong Republican connections, Benjamin Jonas cast his lot with the South in the Civil War. In 1862 he enlisted in the

. He was a member of Fenner's Battery, and Adjutant of a Battalion of Artillery in Hood's Corps in the Army of Tennessee. He served till the end of the war, rising to the rank of

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

. After the war, he returned to New Orleans and became active in state politics as a Democrat. In 1865, he was elected to the state House of Representatives, and served until 1868. In 1872, he was elected to the

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

, but declined to take the seat. In 1875, he was appointed city attorney of New Orleans, and served until 1879. He was again elected state Representative in 1876. In 1879, he was elected to the U.S. Senate, and served from March 4, 1879 to March 4, 1885. In the 46th Congress, he was chairman of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs. He sought another term in 1884, but was not re-elected. In 1885, he was appointed Collector of the port of New Orleans, serving until 1889. He then resumed the practice of law. Jonas died in New Orleans on December 21, 1911, and was buried in Dispersed of Judah Cemetery (listed in

Historic Cemeteries of New Orleans The Historic Cemeteries of New Orleans, New Orleans, United States, are a group of forty-two cemeteries that are historically and culturally significant. These are distinct from most cemeteries commonly located in the United States in that they a ...

). He was the second Jewish U.S. Senator from Louisiana, the first having been

Judah P. Benjamin Judah Philip Benjamin, QC (August 6, 1811 – May 6, 1884) was a United States senator from Louisiana, a Cabinet officer of the Confederate States and, after his escape to the United Kingdom at the end of the American Civil War, an English ba ...

(1853–1861), and the third Jewish Senator overall, the others being Benjamin and

David Levy Yulee David Levy Yulee (born David Levy; June 12, 1810 – October 10, 1886) was an American politician and attorney. Born on the island of St. Thomas, then under British control, he was of Sephardic Jewish ancestry: His father was a Sephardi from Mo ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

(1845–1851, 1855–1861). However, both Yulee and Benjamin married

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

wives, and did not openly practice Judaism afterward. Notes and Documents: Winston de Ville, "The Marriage Contract of Judah P. Benjamin and Natalie St. Martin"
''Louisiana History'', Vol. 37, No. 1, Winter, 1996, at JSTOR, accessed July 24, 2011; Jonas was the first practicing Jew in the Senate. Jonas was also the first

Ashkenazi Jew Ashkenazi Jews ( ; he, יְהוּדֵי אַשְׁכְּנַז, translit=Yehudei Ashkenaz, ; yi, אַשכּנזישע ייִדן, Ashkenazishe Yidn), also known as Ashkenazic Jews or ''Ashkenazim'',, Ashkenazi Hebrew pronunciation: , singu ...

in the Senate; while the two previous Jewish senators were of

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

descent, as were the majority of U.S. Jews at the time, today American Jews are overwhelmingly Ashkenazi, as are the majority of Jewish elected officials.

References

Sources

Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jonas, Benjamin F. 1834 births 1911 deaths Jewish American military personnel American people of English-Jewish descent Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives Confederate States Army officers People of Louisiana in the American Civil War Jewish United States senators Democratic Party United States senators from Louisiana Jewish Confederates 19th-century American politicians Jewish American state legislators in Louisiana

Life and career

See also

References

Sources