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This chapter describes events following Cohen's resignation from government service on January 20, 1953. During his retirement, Cohen remained in close contact with a wide range of politicians, journalists, civil servants, and academics. He also continued to be an active follower of foreign affairs. He served as an adviser on such matters to Adlai Stevenson during his two presidential campaigns, and as an occasional consultant to the Democratic National Committee.

This chapter presents a sketch of Benjamin V. Cohen's family background. His father, Moses Cohen, came to Muncie from Indianapolis, where he had lived for seven years since emigrating from Graievo, Poland. With him was his wife, Sarah Ringolsky Cohen. According to local historians, Cohen and his wife were the first Eastern European Jews to arrive in Muncie. Moses and Sarah had five children—three boys and two girls. The youngest, born September 23, 1894, was named Benjamin Victor.

This chapter describes Cohen's role in the war effort. The discussions include his appointment as general counsel to the newly created Office of Economic Stabilization in 1942; the establishment on May 27, 1943 of the Office of War Mobilization by executive order, which was drafted by Cohen and Donald Russell; and Cohen's involvement with the Roosevelt administration's decision to remove thousands of Japanese Americans from their homes on the West Coast and intern them in concentration camps throughout the western states.

This chapter focuses on Cohen's diplomatic activities. The discussions include his resignation from government service in January 1945; President Truman's appointment of Byrnes as secretary of state and Cohen's corresponding appointment as special assistant to the secretary; and his appointment in late September 1948 as alternate member of the American delegation to the U.N. General Assembly session in Paris.

This chapter details Cohen's new position as “counselor to the ambassador,” following the appointment of John G. Winant as the American ambassador to Great Britain. The initiative for Cohen's appointment came from Winant himself. Given Winant's lack of direct foreign policy experience, the idea of having an assistant with Cohen's connections and talents was appealing. Their personal relationship was also cordial, and Winant had tremendous respect for Cohen's abilities.

This chapter details events following Cohen's decision to settle in New York City in the spring of 1921. Immediately upon reaching New York, he was hired by Max Lowenthal to assist in the management of a major bankruptcy case involving E. F. Drew & Co. Cohen also became an active player in the booming stock market of the mid-1920s.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of the influence and accomplishments of Benjamin V. Cohen, which include major roles in drafting the landmark financial legislation of the new Deal—the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. It then considers the reasons behind his lack of historical standing.

This chapter details Cohen's involvement with Zionism. He was part of the circle of Louis Dembitz Brandeis, who, in addition to serving as an associate justice of the United States Supreme Court, was also the leading American Zionist of his day. Cohen's connection to Brandeis led both contemporaries and historians to mistakenly assume that the two men were always in agreement on their approach to politics and social policy.

This chapter describes the drafting and provisions of the Cohen–Corcoran–Landis bill, which formed the basis of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934; Wall Street's adverse reactions to the proposed stock exchange legislation; revisions of the bill; Cohen's ability to navigate in the treacherous waters of Washington politics; and Roosevelt's signing of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 into law on June 6.

This chapter describes events leading up to the signing into law of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. The discussions include Roosevelt's contentious relationship with public utility companies; the creation of the National Power Policy Committee on July 9, 1934; Cohen's drafting of the Public Utility Holding Company Act; and the scandal involving Corcoran and Rep. Ralph Owen Brewster over the death penalty provision in the holding company bill.

This chapter details the movement of Cohen and Corcoran to the very center of the Roosevelt administration. Felix Frankfurter gave Corcoran and Cohen a behind-the-scenes push toward the Oval Office. On March 19, 1935, in the midst of the legislative battle over the Public Utility Holding Company Act, Frankfurter wrote to Roosevelt and urged the president to appoint what later presidents would call a chief of staff. Frankfurter recommended Corcoran rather than Cohen for this sensitive and critical position. Frankfurter knew that once Corcoran had established himself at the center of power Cohen would be right behind him, given the close ties between the two men.

This chapter focuses on Franklin Roosevelt's so-called court-packing plan. The majority of the justices were opposed to the New Deal. To deal with the Court's intransigence, Attorney General Cummings devised a plan to enlarge the Court, adding a sufficient number of justices to ensure decisions favorable to the New Deal. The plan provided inducements for the justices to retire at the age of seventy, and allowed the president to make one additional appointment for every justice above the age of seventy who did not retire.

This chapter focuses on Cohen's interest in foreign policy. He was drawn to the foreign policy arena for personal as well as professional reasons. His sympathies were aroused by the plight of the Jews in Germany and by the increasingly difficult predicament faced by his friends in England, including Margery Abrahams, who had become active in the effort to rescue Jewish children from Nazism. He was also influenced by Frankfurter, who had close connections in British academia and among the European Jewish leadership. The chapter also details Cohen's involvement in domestic affairs.

This chapter focuses on the worsening crisis in Europe in 1940. The discussions include Roosevelt's foreign policy, given the American public's refusal to become involved in the war; German advances in Europe; Churchill's plea to Roosevelt for aid, including the supply of destroyers; and Cohen's contribution to the destroyers-for-bases program.

This chapter focuses on the start of Cohen's role in the New Deal. The discussions include the Lowenthal–Cohen critique of the Hastings bill; the Thompson bill on securities reform; Cohen's jobs as “temporary expert” with the new securities division of the Federal Trade Commission and as general solicitor of the Public Works Administration; and the reasons why he stayed in Washington.

This chapter describes events that occurred between 1937 and 1938. These include the growing reputations of Cohen and Corcoran as Washington power players; Cohen's role in drafting the Bonneville bill; the controversy surrounding the appointment of Hugo Black to the Supreme Court of the United States; the onset of the recession of 1937; Roosevelt's move to the left; and the declining influence of Cohen and Corcoran.