Benjamin Victor Cohen
| Benjamin V. Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 23, 1894 Muncie, Indiana |
| Died | August 15, 1983 (aged 88) Washington, D.C. |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | University of Chicago Harvard Law School |
| Occupation | Lawyer |
| Known for | Key member of Franklin Roosevelt brain trust |
Benjamin V. Cohen (1894 – 1983), a member of the administrations of Franklin D. Roosevelt and Harry S. Truman, had a public service career that spanned from the early New Deal through and beyond the Vietnam War era.
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[edit] Early career
Cohen was a law clerk for Judge Learned Hand.[1]
He served as counsel for the American Zionist Movement from 1919 - 1921. He acted as Zionist counsel to the 1919 Paris Peace Conference.[1]
Cohen practiced law in New York 1921 - 1933.[1]
[edit] New Deal
Cohen's first appearance on the national scene was as a member of President Franklin D. Roosevelt's Brain Trust. Cohen became a part of the Roosevelt administration in 1933 when Felix Frankfurter, then a Harvard University Law School professor, brought Cohen, Thomas Corcoran, and James M. Landis together to write what became the Truth In Securities Act. Later that year Cohen was assigned to work on railroad legislation.
Much of Cohen's work during the New Deal was in conjunction with Corcoran. Together they were known as the "Gold Dust Twins" and appeared on the cover of Time magazine's September 12, 1938, edition.
[edit] World War II
In 1941, during the period leading up to the entry of the United States into World War II he helped write the Lend-Lease plan.
Cohen also assisted in the drafting of the 1944 Dumbarton Oaks agreements leading to the establishment of the United Nations.
In 1945 Cohen served as the United States' chief draftsman at the Potsdam Conference.[2]
[edit] Post-War
In 1948 Cohen advised both the United States and the new state of Israel with respect to the first official exchange between those two countries.[3]
Cohen provided crucial advice and counsel to senators working for the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1957.[4]
[edit] Personal life
Education: University of Chicago (Ph.B. 1914; J.D. 1915). Harvard Law School (S.J.D. 1916)
Cohen was the uncle of Selma Jeanne Cohen, a prominent dance historian.[5]
[edit] Characterizations
- "Cohen was known for his slouching posture, sloppy dress, absentminded table manners - and for a skill at drafting legislation that was generally reckoned the best in the United States."[6]
- He "looked and talked, as a friend wrote, 'like a Dickens portrait of an absent-minded professor.'"[7]
[edit] Works
- Report on the Work of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (1953)
- The United Nations: Constitutional Developments, Growth, and Possibilities (Harvard University Press : 1961)
[edit] References
- Caro, Robert A. (2002), Master of the Senate: The Years of Lyndon Johnson, New York: Alfred a Knopf Inc, ISBN 0-394-52836-0
- Louchheim, Katie (Ed.) (1983), The Making of the New Deal : The Insiders Speak, Cambridge: Harvard University Press, ISBN 0-674-54345-9
- Mee, Jr., Charles L. (1975), Meeting at Potsdam, New York: M. Evans & Company, ISBN 0871311674
[edit] Notes
- ^ a b c Louchheim, p. 336.
- ^ Mee (book club edition), pp. 102, 219 & 223.
- ^ "Counsel to the President," the memoirs of Clark Clifford with Richard Holbrooke, published in 1991 (visited 9/3/09)
- ^ Caro, pp. 949-51 & 1008.
- ^ See Selma Jeanne Cohen Papers b. 3 f. 20.
- ^ Mee (book club edition), p. 219
- ^ Caro, p. 949
[edit] Further reading
[edit] Biography
Lasser, William, Benjamin V. Cohen: Architect of the New Deal (Yale University Press : 2002)
[edit] Magazines
The Janizariat, TIME Magazine (September 12, 1938)
