Louisiana’s Early Jewish Electoral Achievements
Perhaps the greatest surprise in the first century of the Jewish American politics (1788-1890) is that Louisiana had an electoral record unmatched by any other American state – including New York.
Louisiana was first in the nation to elect a Jew as attorney general (in 1855), lieutenant governor (in 1859), and governor (in 1864).
It elected the nation’s second, third, and fourth Jewish U.S. Senators between 1853 and 1879; chose the nation’s second Jewish house Speaker (in 1850) and its fourth (in 1875).
By 1890, six Louisiana Jews had won ten elections to statewide offices–while New York had elected none.
Louisiana’s Statewide and Federal Officeholders
Dr. Edwin W. Moise (1810-1868) was elected Speaker of the Louisiana House in 1850 and again in 1853, after serving four terms in the House.
In 1855, Louisiana voters elected him state Attorney General for a four year term.
Edwin W. Moise
The Louisiana Legislature elected Judah P. Benjamin (1811-1884 ) to a six-year term in the U.S. Senate in 1853 and gave him to a second term in 1859.
He resigned in 1861 as the Civil War began.
Henry Hyams (1806-1875), Judah Benjamin’s cousin, won a four-year term as Lieutenant Governor in 1860.
Michael Hahn (1830-1886), was elected in 1864 as the nation’s first Jewish governor, although the reach of his office was limited to New Orleans and thirteen surrounding parishes that were under Union control.
In 1865, the Legislature chose Hahn to serve as U.S. Senator but radical Republicans in Washington, D. C. refused to seat him.
In 1875, the Louisiana House elected him Speaker for that year.
He was also twice elected to the U.S. House of Representatives: 1862-1863 and 1885-1886.
Michael Hahn
William Levy (1827-1882) of Natchitoches won a two year term in the U.S. House in 1874.
The Louisiana Legislature elected Benjamin Franklin Jonas (1834-1911) of New Orleans to a six year term in the U.S. Senate in 1879.
He was a member of the Jonas family that won elections in five states.
Adolph Meyer (1842-1908) of Lake Charles, Benjamin Franklin Jonas’s brother-in-law, won nine consecutive terms in the U.S. House from 1890 to 1906.
Martin Behrman (1864-1926) was elected Louisiana State Auditor in 1904 and he went on to win five terms as New Orleans mayor in 1904-1925.
Louisiana Parish Presidents
Louis Trager (1843-1905) was elected president of the Concordia Parish police jury (Louisiana’s unique equivalent to a county board of supervisors) in 1869.
Edouard Weil (1828-1891), was elected president of the Rapides Parish police jury in 1880.
Bertrand Weil (1859-1929), was elected president of the Concordia Parish police jury four times and served in 1902-10.
Edouard and Bertrand Weil were distantly related, with French roots.
Bertrand Weil
Louisiana Mayors
Twenty-eight Jewish mayors served in Louisiana between 1864 and 1924–highest number in the nation.
The leaders were Martin Behrman, who served five terms as New Orleans mayor from 1904 until his death in 1926; David Israel (1848-1912), who was elected Donaldsonville mayor four times from 1879-1882; and Edward Loeb (1872-1943), who won four terms as Opelousas mayor, serving from 1912-18 and 1920-22.
Edouard Weil, Alexandria, 1875-1877.
Jonas Rosenthal (1843-1930), Alexandria, 1900.
Marx Schoenberg (1833-1870), Donaldsonville, 1870.
Solomon Weinschenck (1809-91), Donaldsonville, 1872-1874.
Gustave Israel (1860-1945), Donaldsonville, 1883.
Jacob Blum (1862-1952), Donaldsonville, 1909-1911.
Walter Lemann (1879-1952), Donaldsonville, 1913-1917.
Elias Stockner (ca. 1846-1916), Lake Providence, 1877-1878.
Solomon Dreyfuss (1830-90), Lake Providence, 1887-1888.
Samuel Levy (1885-1933), Shreveport, 1872-1873.
Ben Holtzman (1844-1922), Shreveport, 1900.
Ernest Bernstein (1870-1932), Shreveport, 1906-1908.
Jacob Isaacs (1839-1911), Abbeville, 1880.
Leon Jastremski (1848-1907), Baton Rouge, 1876-1882.
Jacob Bodenheimer (1808-1865), Bellevue, 1864.
Aaron Loeb (1870-1941), Crowley, 1915-1918.
Henry Bodenheimer (1853-1938), Haughton, 1885-1887.
Adolph Meyer, Lake Charles, 1888-1889.
Neafthalie Levy (1834-1907), Mandeville, 1872-1873.
Arnold Bernstein (1874-1937), Monroe, 1919-1937.
Solomon Klotz (1854-1931), Napoleonville, 1922-1924.
Emmanuel Bodenheimer (1860-1939), South Highlands, 1915-1927.
Isaiah Moore (1846-1925), Thibodaux, 1886-1888.
Abraham Yamer (1850-1923), Waterproof, 1878-1882.
Dr. Isaac Siess (1871-1923), Winnfield, 1911-1914.
State Senators
Judah P. Benjamin, New Orleans, 1852.
Judah P. Benjamin
Henry Hyams, New Orleans, 1855-1859.
Benjamin Franklin Jonas, New Orleans, 1872 (did not serve).
Benjamin Franklin Jonas
Bertrand Weil, Alexandria, 1910-1924.
Mayer Cahen (1848-1924), Napoleonville, 1879-1888.
Leon Haas (1878-1947), Opelousas, 1916-1920.
Simon Leopold, Phoenix, 1920-1924.
John Friedman, Natchitoches, 1922-1924.
State Representatives
William Levy, Natchitoches, 1859-1861.
Leopold Caspari (1830-1915),Natchitoches, 1884-1892.
John Friedman, Natchitoches, 1912-1916.
Judah P. Benjamin, New Orleans,1842-1844.
Benjamin Franklin Jonas, New Orleans, 1866-1868, 1877-1878.
Joseph Oplatek (1826-1900), New Orleans, 1870-1872.
Isaac Ullman (1837-95), New Orleans, 1870-1872.
Felix Dreyfous, New Orleans, 1888-1892.
Harold Moise, New Orleans, 1908-1812.
Dr. Edwin Moise, Phoenix, 1846-1854.
Simon Leopold (1862-1932), Phoenix, 1900-1920.
William Winter, Shreveport, 1904-1908.
David Samuel, Shreveport, 1912-1916.
Henry Hyams, West Baton Rouge, 1870-1872.
Michael Hahn, Hahnville, 1872-1878.
Jacob Kaliski, Monroe, 1900-1904, 1908-1912.
Walter Lemann, Donaldsonville, 1904-1908.
Jules Dreyfus (1864-1926), New Iberia, 1920-1928.
Edward Loeb, Opelousas, 1924-1935.
Parish Police Jury Members
Pierre Klopman (1842-1899), Ascension, 1880-1886.
Michael Tobias (1866-1910), Ascension, 1908-1910.
Bernard Lemann (1841-1899), Assumption, 1877-1878.
Solomon Klotz, Assumption, 1884-1888.
Mayer Cahen (1848-1924), Assumption, 1885-1888.
William Winter, Caddo, 1896-1904, 1910-17.
Adolph Meyer, Calcasieu, 1899-1900.
Adolph Meyer
Louis Trager, Concordia, 1869.
Henry Hyams, Natchitoches, 1846-1847.
Adrian Leopold (1860-1914), Plaquemines, 1900-1908, 1912-1914.
Moses Rosenthal (1828-98), Rapides, 1877-1885.
Bernard Mayer (1840-1907), Rapides, 1878-1879.
Edouard Weil, Rapides, 1878-1879.
Abraham Heyman, (1854-1921), Rapides, 1880-1884.
Bertrand Weil, Rapides, 1898-1910.
David Weinberg, Rapides, 1899-1907.
Samuel Warshauer, (1854-1921), Rapides, 1909-1916.
Samuel Haas (1837-1919), St. Landry, 1877-1892.
Louis Leward (1852-1907), Terrebonne, 1910-1940.
Samuel Polmer (1860-1940), Terrebonne, 1911-1940.
Solomon Wise (1824-1908), Vermillion, 1877-1879.
Treasurers
Miers Rosenthal (1834-97), Alexandria, 1867.
Moses Rosenthal, Rapides Parish police jury, 1877-1885.
David Israel, Donaldsonville, 1878-1879.
Isaac Wise (1819-1900), Vermillion Parish police jury treasurer, 1879-1884.
Jonas Rosenthal (1843-1930), Alexandria, 1889-1891.
Samuel Leopold (1860-1953), Morehouse Parish, police jury, 1904-1924.
Sheriffs
Samuel Hyams, Natchitoches Parish, 1847-1852.
Samuel Leopold, Morehouse Parish, 1924-1926.
City Secretaries
Edouard Weil, Alexandria, 1867.
David Israel, Donaldsonville, 1873-1878.
City Council Members
Jacob Isaacs (1839-1911), Abbeville, alderman, 1879-1882.
Solomon Wise, Abbeville, alderman, 1887-1890.
Isaac Levy (1829-1914), Alexandria, councilman, 1865-1866.
Joseph Plonsky, Alexandria, alderman, 1869-1870.
Julius Levin (1833-1910), Alexandria, councilman, 1869-1873.
Moses Rosenthal (1828-1898), Alexandria, councilman, 1875-1877.
Alexander Weil (1830-1900), Alexandria, councilman, 1877-1879, 1884-1889, 1897-1900.
Jonas Rosenthal, Alexandria, alderman, 1879-1883.
Edouard Weil, Alexandria, councilman, 1881-1883, 1885-1887.
Bernard Mayer (1840-1907), Alexandria, councilman, 1881-1883.
Gustave Israel (1860-1945), Alexandria, alderman, 1883-1884.
Henry Florsheim (1846-1917), Alexandria, alderman, 1884-1888.
Samuel Warshauer (1854-1921), Alexandria, councilman, 1891-1897, alderman, 1903-1909.
Charles Goldenberg (1851-1906), Alexandria, councilman, 1895-1897.
Samuel Weil (1847-1921), Alexandria, alderman, 1897-1899, 1901-1902.
Gustave Gehr (1858-1945), Alexandria, alderman, 1901-1903.
Sidney Schmalinski (1870-1953), Alexandria, alderman, 1903-1907.
Benjamin Weil (1875-1951), Alexandria, alderman, 1905-1907.
William Nachman (1864-1922), Alexandria, alderman, 1909-1913.
Bernard Lemann (1841-1899), Donaldsonville,1874.
Myer Lemann (1858-1930),Donaldsonville, alderman, 1883-1884.
Jacob Blum, Donaldsonville, alderman, 1895-1911.
Michael Tobias (1866-1910), Donaldsonville, councilman, 1905-1909.
David Israel Jr. (1867-1927), Donaldsonville, alderman, 1906-1911.
Solomon Klotz, Napoleonville, alderman, 1896-1898, 1900-1904, 1908-1910, 1918-1922.
Marx Weil (1825-1918), Napoleonville, alderman, 1898-1900, 1901-1902.
Moses Weil (1861-1949), Napoleonville, alderman, 1910-1914.
Samuel Hyams, Natchitoches, trustee, 1839-1840.
Jacob Israel, Natchitoches, councilman/trustee, 1869-1870.
Samuel Nelken (1851-1927), Natchitoches, councilman, 1870’s-1880’s.
Alexander Phillips (1775-aft. 1862), New Orleans, alderman, 1820’s.
Felix Dreyfous, New Orleans, councilman, 1896-1900.
William Winter, Shreveport, councilman, 1888-1890.
Ben Holzman (1844-1922), Shreveport, councilman, 1896-1899.
Ernest Bernstein, Shreveport, councilman, 1898-1906.
Paul Lowenthal (1851-1913), Shreveport, councilman, 1903-1907.
Leon Kahn (1870-1940), Shreveport, councilman and public utilities commissioner, 1914-1922.
David Wise (1817-1898), Waterproof, councilman, 1872-1886.
Charles Wise (1860-1905), Waterproof, councilman, 1886-1894.
Markus Moses (1859-u.), Waterproof, councilman, 1890-1894.
Bernard Goldberg (1868-1939 ), Waterproof, councilman, 1894-1902.
Herman Goldberg (1875-1941), Waterproof, councilman, 1914-1922.
Jacob Frankel (1858-1941), Crowley, councilman, 1888, 1900.
Benjamin Falk (1853-1901), Lafayette, town commissioner, 1895-1896.
Louis Lewald (1852-1907), Houma, alderman, 1896.
Herman Levy (1874-1953), Mandeville, town councilman, 1902-1904, 1910-1912.
Dr. Isaac Siess, Winnfield, alderman, 1903-1905.
Elias Stockner, Lake Providence, alderman, 1908-1914.
Edward Loeb (1872-1943), Opelousas, alderman, 1910-1912.
Julius Bernstein (1862-1913), Winnfield, councilman, 1912-1913.
Arnold Bernstein, Monroe, alderman, 1916-1919.
Source
- Mark Rutzik, Breaking New Ground: The Untold Story of Early America’s Jewish Electoral Pioneers – 1788 to 1920, 2025.
Mark Rutzick is the curator of this Electoral Achievements exhibit.