Tag: Court

Many who knew Judah, however, have stated that his legal arguments and his personal views were two different things. In reality, Judah, his family, and his broader community in the South were generally in favour of slave-ownership. He believed that slaves were “property” and that a government had no right to interfere in the ownership of property. Particularly a “property” guaranteed in the 1776 Constitution. He thought that freeing slaves was impractical because this population had no idea of how to survive as free-functioning individuals. Such a transition, if it could happen at all, would take a very long time involving preparation. For those who supported slavery, these attitudes were common amongst the “White” community. Another justifying argument involved the idea that Biblical texts justified the enslavement of Africans – with slavery being god’s will. In 1862, Judah P. Benjamin was appointed Confederate Secretary of State, and he pursued the foreign policy of attempting to pursued Great Britain and France to recognise the Confederacy. In 1864, Confederate General Patrick Cleburne (of the Army of Tennessee) suggested that all the slaves in the South should be freed and immediately armed – to form “Black” Regiments in the Confederate Army. Jeferson Davis vettoed this idea (even though Judah P. Benjamin had been discussing this since 1863).