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	Senator Benjamin was the first professing Jew elected to the U.S. Senate in 1852 and reelected in 1858). His reputation as an eloquent speaker and brilliant mind made his selection by the Louisiana state legislature was of little surprise. As he was said to be the most prominent American Jew during the 19th century, his term in the Senate was of most importance and affect on the country. During his Senate term, the outgoing President, Millard Fillmore of the Whig Party, offered to nominate him to fill a Supreme Court vacancy after the Senate Democrats had defeated Fillmore's other nominees for that post, and the New York Times reported (on February 15, 1853) that "if the President nominates Benjamin, the Democrats are determined to confirm him." However, Benjamin declined to be nominated. He took office as a Senator on March 4, 1853. During his first year as a Senator, he challenged another young Senator, Jefferson Davis of Mississippi, to a duel over a perceived insult on the Senate floor; Davis apologized, and the two began a close friendship. He quickly gained a reputation as a great orator. In 1854 he was again offered a nomination to the Supreme Court by President Franklin Pierce, which he again declined. He was a noted advocate of the interests of the South, and his most famous exchange on the Senate floor was related to his religion and the issue of slavery: abolitionist and future Radical Republican Benjamin Wade of Ohio accused him of being an "Israelite in Egyptian clothing." (This is a reference to how Judah P. Benjamin's Israelite ancestors were held as slaves prior to the Exodus by the Ancient Egyptians yet Benjamin had himself been a slave-owner a mere four years previous thereby becoming that which those people whom he claimed as his ancestors fought against.) The future Confederate replied that, "It is true that I am a Jew, and when my ancestors were receiving their Ten Commandments from the immediate Deity, amidst the thundering and lightning’s of Mt. Sinai, the ancestors of my opponent were herding swine in the forests of Great Britain." In the final years before the war, Benjamin was widely admired nationally in both Jewish and non Jewish communities for his prestige as a Southern leader and his eloquence as an orator. His election to the U.S. Senate was a watershed for American Jews. Because of the war, he became the first Jewish political figure to be projected into the national consciousness. Jews in the South were especially proud of his achievement because he validated their legitimacy as Southerners. A pivotal figure in American Jewish history, Benjamin broke down the barriers of prejudice to achieve high office. After him, it was more acceptable for Jews to be elected to office and to aspire to service in the councils of national power. He was again selected to serve as Senator for the term beginning in 1859, but this time as a Democrat. During the 34th through 36th Congresses he was chairman of the Committee on Private Land Claims. Benjamin resigned his seat on February 4, 1861, after the secession of Louisiana from the Union. "It is a revolution," U.S. Sen. Judah Benjamin said, speaking in December 1860 of the South's determination to secede, "and it can no more be checked by human effort... than a prairie fire by a gardener's watering pot."
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