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By the 1850s , cheap Southern cotton fueled the industries of Europe . The mills of Britain , developed during the first half of the 19th century , by 1860 used more cotton than the rest of the industrialized world combined . Cotton imports to Britain came almost entirely from the American South . According to an article in The Economist in 1853 , " let any great social or physical convulsion visit the United States , and England would feel the shock from Land 's End to John O <unk> 's . The lives of nearly two million of our countrymen ... hang upon a thread . "
In 1855 , an Ohioan , David Christy , published Cotton Is King : or Slavery in the Light of Political Economy . Christy argued that the flow of cotton was so important to the industrialized world that cutting it off would be devastating — not least to the Northern United States , as cotton was by far the largest U.S. export . This became known as the " King Cotton " theory , to which Davis was an enthusiastic subscriber . Benjamin also spoke in favor of the theory , though Butler suspected he may have " known better " , based on his firsthand knowledge of Europe .
When war came , Davis , against Benjamin 's advice , imposed an embargo on exports of cotton to nations that had not recognized the Confederate government , hoping to force such relations , especially with Britain and France . As the Union was attempting to prevent cotton from being exported from Confederate ports by a blockade and other means , this played to a certain extent into the hands of Lincoln and his Secretary of State , William H. Seward . Additionally , when the war began , Britain had a large surplus of cotton in warehouses , enough to keep the mills running at least part @-@ time for a year or so . Although many prominent Britons believed the South would prevail , there was a reluctance to recognize Richmond until it had gained the military victories to put its foe at bay . Much of this was due to hatred of slavery , though part of it stemmed from a desire to remain on good terms with the U.S. government — due to a drought in 1862 , Britain was forced to import large quantities of wheat and flour from the United States . Also , Britain feared the expansionist Americans might invade the vulnerable Canadian colonies , as Seward hinted they might .
= = = = Appointment = = = =
Davis appointed Benjamin as Secretary of State on March 17 , 1862 . He was promptly confirmed by the Confederate Senate . A motion to reconsider the confirmation was lost , 13 – 8 . According to Butler , the appointment of Benjamin brought Davis little political support , as the average white Southerner did not understand Benjamin and somewhat disliked him . As there was not much open opposition to Davis in the South at the time , Benjamin 's appointment was not criticized , but was not given much praise either . Meade noted , " the silence of many influential newspapers was ominous . [ Benjamin 's ] promotion in the face of such bitter criticism of his conduct in the war office caused the first serious lack of confidence in the Davis government . "
Meade wrote that , since the Secretary of State would have to work closely with Jefferson Davis , Benjamin was likely the person best suited to the position . In addition to his relationship with the President , Benjamin was very close to the Confederate First Lady , Varina Davis , with whom he exchanged confidences regarding war events and the President 's health . " Together , and by turns , they could help him over the most difficult days . "
For recreation , Benjamin frequented Richmond 's gambling dens , playing poker and faro . He was incensed when British correspondent William Howard Russell publicized his gambling , feeling that it was an invasion of his private affairs . He was also displeased that Russell depicted him as a losing gambler , when his reputation was the opposite .
= = = = Early days ( 1862 – 1863 ) = = = =
The Trent Affair had taken place before Benjamin took office as Secretary of State : a U.S. warship had in October 1861 removed Confederate diplomats James Mason and James Slidell ( Benjamin 's former Louisiana colleague in the U.S. Senate ) and their private secretaries from a British @-@ flagged vessel . The crisis brought the U.S. and Britain near war , and was resolved by their release . By the time of Benjamin 's appointment , Mason and Slidell were at their posts in London and Paris as putative ministers from the Confederacy , seeking recognition by the governments of Britain and France . With difficult communications between the South and Europe ( dispatches were often lost or intercepted ) , Benjamin was initially reluctant to change the instructions given the agents by Secretary Hunter . Communications improved by 1863 , with Benjamin ordering that dispatches be sent to Bermuda or the Bahamas , from where they reached the Confederacy by blockade runner .
As a practical matter , Benjamin 's chances of gaining European recognition rose and fell with the military fortunes of the Confederacy . When , at the end of June 1862 , Confederate General Robert E. Lee turned back Union General George B. McClellan 's Peninsula Campaign in the Seven Days Battles , ending the immediate threat to Richmond , Emperor Napoleon III of France favorably received proposals from Benjamin , through Slidell , for the French to intervene on the Confederacy 's behalf in exchange for trade concessions . Nevertheless , the Emperor proved unwilling to act without Britain . In August 1862 , Mason , angered by the refusal of British government ministers to meet with him , threatened to resign his post . Benjamin soothed him , stating that while Mason should not submit to insulting treatment , resignation should not take place without discussion .
The bloody standoff at Antietam in September 1862 , that ended Lee 's first major incursion into the North , gave Lincoln the confidence in Union arms he needed to announce the Emancipation Proclamation . British newspapers mocked Lincoln for hypocrisy in freeing slaves only in Confederate @-@ held areas , where he could exercise no authority . British officials had been shocked by the outcome of Antietam — they had expected Lee to deliver another brilliant victory — and now considered an additional reason for intervening in the conflict . Antietam , the bloodiest day of the war , had been a stalemate ; they read this as presaging an overall deadlock in the war , with North and South at each other 's throats for years as Britain 's mills sat empty and its people starved . France agreed with this assessment .
The final few months of 1862 saw a high water mark for Benjamin 's diplomacy . In October , the British Chancellor of the Exchequer , William E. Gladstone , expressed confidence in Confederate victory , stating in Newcastle , " There is no doubt that Jefferson Davis and other leaders of the South have made an army . They are making , it appears , a navy , and they have made what is more than either — they have made a nation . " Later that month , Napoleon proposed to the British and Russians ( a U.S. ally ) that they combine to require a six months ' armistice for mediation , and an end to the blockade ; if they did so , it would likely lead to Southern independence . The proposal divided the British Cabinet . In mid @-@ November , at the urgings of Palmerston and War Secretary George Cornewall Lewis , members decided to continue to wait for the South to defeat Lincoln 's forces before recognizing it . Although proponents of intervention were prepared to await another opportunity , growing realization among the British public that the Emancipation Proclamation meant that Union victory would be slavery 's end made <unk> the South politically infeasible .
Benjamin had not been allowed to offer the inducement for intervention that might have succeeded — abolition of slavery in the Confederacy , and because of that , Meade deemed his diplomacy " seriously , perhaps fatally handicapped " . The Secretary of State blamed Napoleon for the failure , believing the Emperor had betrayed the Confederacy to get the ruler the French had installed in Mexico , Maximilian , accepted by the United States .
In Paris , Slidell had been approached by the banking firm Erlanger et Cie . The company offered to float a loan to benefit the Confederacy . The proposed terms provided a large commission to Erlanger and would entitle the bondholder to cotton at a discounted price once the South won the war . Baron Frederic Emile d 'Erlanger , head of the firm , journeyed to Richmond in early 1863 , and negotiated with Benjamin , although the transaction properly fell within the jurisdiction of Treasury Secretary Memminger . The banker softened the terms somewhat , though they were still lucrative for his firm . Benjamin felt the deal was worth it , as it would provide the Confederacy with badly needed funds to pay its agents in Europe .
= = = = Increasing desperation ( 1863 – 1865 ) = = = =
The twin rebel defeats at Gettysburg and Vicksburg in early July 1863 made it unlikely that Britain , or any other nation , would recognize a slaveholding Confederacy staggering towards oblivion . Accordingly , in August , Benjamin wrote to Mason telling him that as Davis believed the British unwilling to recognize the South , he was free to leave the country . In October , with Davis absent on a trip to Tennessee , Benjamin heard that the British consul in Savannah had forbidden British subjects in the Confederate Army from being used against the United States . The Secretary of State convened a Cabinet meeting , that expelled the remaining British consuls in Confederate @-@ controlled territory , then notified Davis by letter . Evans suggests that Benjamin 's actions made him the Confederacy 's acting president — the first Jewish president .
Benjamin supervised the Confederate Secret Service , responsible for covert operations in the North , and financed former federal Interior Secretary Jacob Thompson to work behind the scenes financing operations that might undermine Lincoln politically . Although efforts were made to boost Peace Democrats , the most prominent actions proved to be the St. Albans Raid ( an attack on a Vermont town from Canada ) and an unsuccessful attempt to burn New York City . In the aftermath of the war , these activities led to accusations that Benjamin and Davis were involved in the assassination of Abraham Lincoln , as one Confederate courier , John H. Surratt , who had received money from Benjamin , was tried for involvement in the conspiracy , though Surratt was acquitted .
As the Confederacy 's military fortunes flagged , there was increasing consideration of what would have been unthinkable in 1861 — enlisting male slaves in the army and emancipating them for their service . In August 1863 , B. H. Micou , a relative of a former law partner , wrote to Benjamin proposing the use of black soldiers . Benjamin responded that this was not feasible , principally for legal and financial reasons , and that the slaves were performing valuable services for the Confederacy where they were . According to Meade , " Benjamin did not offer any objections to Micou 's plan except on practical grounds — he was not repelled by the radical nature of the proposal " . A British financial agent for the Confederacy , James Spence , also urged emancipation as a means of gaining British recognition . Benjamin allowed Spence to remain in his position for almost a year despite the differences with Confederate policy , before finally dismissing him in late 1863 . Despite official neutrality , tens of thousands from British @-@ ruled Ireland were enlisting in the Union cause ; Benjamin sent an agent to Ireland hoping to impede those efforts and Dudley Mann to Rome to urge Pope Pius IX to forbid Catholic Irish from enlisting . The Pope did not do so , though he responded sympathetically .
In January 1864 , Confederate General Patrick Cleburne , of the Army of the Tennessee , proposed emancipating and arming the slaves . Davis , when he heard of it , turned it down and ordered it kept secret . Evans notes that Benjamin " had been thinking in similar terms for much longer , and perhaps the recommendation of so respected an officer was just the impetus he needed . " The year 1864 was a disastrous one for the Confederacy , with Lee forced within siege lines at Petersburg and Union General William T. Sherman sacking Atlanta and devastating Georgia on his march to the sea . Benjamin urged Davis to send the secretary 's fellow Louisianan , Duncan Kenner , to Paris and London , with an offer of emancipation in exchange for recognition . Davis was only willing to offer gradual emancipation , and both Napoleon and Palmerston rejected the proposal . Benjamin continued to press the matter , addressing a mass meeting in Richmond in February 1865 in support of arming the slaves and emancipating them . A bill eventually emerged from the Confederate Congress in March , but it had many restrictions , and it was too late to affect the outcome of the war .
In January 1865 , Lincoln , who had been re @-@ elected the previous November , sent Francis Blair as an emissary to Richmond , hoping to secure reunion without further bloodshed . Both sides agreed to a meeting at Fort Monroe , Virginia . Benjamin drafted vague instructions for the Southern delegation , led by Vice President Alexander Stephens , but Davis insisted on modifying them to refer to North and South as " two nations " . This was the point that scuttled the Hampton Roads Conference ; Lincoln would not consider the South a separate entity , insisting on union and emancipation .
= = Escape = =
By March 1865 , the Confederate military situation was desperate . Most major population centers had fallen , and General Lee 's defense of Richmond was faltering against massive Union forces . Nevertheless , Benjamin retained his usual good humor ; on the evening of April 1 , with evacuation likely , he was at the State Department offices , singing a silly ballad of his own composition , " The Exit from <unk> Hill " , a graveyard district located in Richmond . On April 2 , Lee sent word that he could only keep Union troops away from the line of the Richmond and Danville Railroad for a short time . Those who did not leave Richmond would be trapped . At 11 : 00 pm that night , the Confederate President and Cabinet left aboard a Danville @-@ bound train . Navy Secretary Stephen R. Mallory recorded that Benjamin 's " hope and good humor [ was ] inexhaustible ... with a ' never @-@ give @-@ up @-@ the @-@ ship ' sort of air , referred to other great national causes which had been redeemed from far gloomier reverses than ours " .
In Danville , Benjamin shared a room with another refugee , in the home of a banker . For a week , Danville served as capital of the Confederacy , until word came of Lee 's surrender at Appomattox Court House . With no army to shield the Confederate government , it would be captured by Union forces within days , so Davis and his Cabinet , including Benjamin , fled south to Greensboro , North Carolina . Five minutes after the train passed over the Haw River , Union cavalry raiders burned the bridge , trapping the trains that followed Davis 's .
Greensboro , fearing wrathful reprisal from the Union , gave the fugitives little hospitality , forcing Benjamin and the other Cabinet members to bunk in a railroad boxcar . Davis hoped to reach Texas , where rumor had it large Confederate forces remained active . The Cabinet met in Greensboro , and Generals Beauregard and Joseph E. Johnston sketched the bleak military situation . Davis , backed as usual by Benjamin , was determined to continue to fight . The refugee government moved south on April 15 . With the train tracks cut , most Cabinet members rode on horseback , but the heavyset Benjamin declared he would not ride on one until he had to , and shared an ambulance with Jules St. Martin and others . For the entertainment of his companions , Benjamin recited Tennyson 's " Ode on the Death of the Duke of Wellington " .
In Charlotte , Benjamin stayed in the home of a Jewish merchant as surrender negotiations dragged . Here , Benjamin abandoned Davis 's plan to fight on , telling him and the Cabinet that the cause was hopeless . When negotiations failed , Benjamin was part of the shrunken remnant around Davis that moved on with him . The party reached Abbeville , South Carolina on May 2 , and Benjamin told Davis that he wanted to separate from the presidential party temporarily , and go to the Bahamas to be able to send instructions to foreign agents before rejoining Davis in Texas . According to historian William C. Davis , " the pragmatic Secretary of State almost certainly never had any intention of returning to the South once gone " . When he bade John Reagan goodbye , the postmaster general asked where Benjamin was going . " To the farthest place from the United States , if it takes me to the middle of China . "
With one companion , Benjamin travelled south in a poor carriage , pretending to be a Frenchman who spoke no English . He had some gold with him , and left much of it for the support of relatives . He was traveling in the same general direction as the Davis party , but evaded capture whereas Davis was taken by Union troops . Benjamin reached Monticello , Florida , on May 13 to learn Union troops were in nearby Madison . Benjamin decided to continue alone on horseback , east and south along Florida 's Gulf Coast , pretending to be a South Carolina farmer . He eventually reached Gamble Mansion in Ellenton , on the southwest coast of Florida . From there , assisted by the blockade runner Captain Archibald McNeill , he reached Bimini in the Bahamas . His escape from Florida to England was not without hardship : at one point he pretended to be a Jewish cook on McNeill 's vessel , to deceive American soldiers who inspected it — one of whom stated it was the first time he had seen a Jew do menial labor . The small sponge @-@ carrying vessel on which he left Bimini bound for Nassau exploded on the way , and he and the three black crewmen eventually managed to return to Bimini . McNeill 's ship was still there , and he chartered it to take him to Nassau . From there , he took a ship for Havana , and on August 6 , 1865 , left there for Britain . He was not yet done with disaster ; his ship caught fire after departing St. Thomas , and the crew put out the flames only with difficulty . On August 30 , 1865 , Judah Benjamin arrived at Southampton , in Britain .
= = Exile = =
In Britain , Benjamin spent a week in London assisting Mason in winding up Confederate affairs . He then went to Paris to visit his wife and daughter for the first time since before the war . Friends in Paris urged him to join a mercantile firm there , but Benjamin felt that such a career would be subject to interference by Seward and the United States . Accordingly , Benjamin sought to shape his old course in a new country , resuming his legal career as an English barrister . Most of Benjamin 's property had been destroyed or confiscated , and he needed to make a living for himself and his relatives . He had money in the United Kingdom as he had , during the war , purchased cotton for transport to Liverpool by blockade runner .
On January 13 , 1866 , Benjamin enrolled at Lincoln 's Inn , and soon thereafter was admitted to read law under Charles Pollock , son of Chief Baron Charles Edward Pollock , who took him as a pupil at his father 's direction . Benjamin , despite his age of 54 , was initially required , like his thirty @-@ years @-@ younger peers , to attend for twelve terms , that is , three years . According to Benjamin 's obituary in The Times , though , " the secretary of the Confederacy was dispensed from the regular three years of unprofitable dining , and called to the bar " on June 6 , 1866 .
Once qualified as a barrister , Benjamin chose to join the Northern Circuit , as it included Liverpool , where his connections in New Orleans and knowledge of mercantile affairs would do him the most good . In an early case , he defended two former Confederate agents against a suit by the United States to gain assets said to belong to that nation . Although he lost that case ( United States v Wagner ) on appeal , he was successful against his former enemies in United States v McRae ( 1869 ) . He had need of rapid success , as most of his remaining assets were lost in the collapse of the firm of Overend , Gurney and Company . He was reduced to penning columns on international affairs for The Daily Telegraph .
According to Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg , " repeating his Louisiana progress , Benjamin made his reputation among his new peers by publication " . In an early representation , he wrote a complex governing document for an insurance firm that other counsel had declined despite the substantial fee , due to the early deadline . After brief study , Benjamin wrote out the document , never making a correction or erasure . In 1868 , Benjamin published A Treatise on the Law of Sale of Personal Property , With Reference to the American Decisions , to the French Code , and Civil Law . This work , known for short as Benjamin on Sales , became a classic in both Britain and America , and launched his career as a barrister . It went through three editions prior to Benjamin 's death in 1884 ; an eighth edition was published in 2010 . Today Benjamin 's Sale of Goods forms part of the " common law library " of key practitioner texts on English civil law .
In 1867 , Benjamin had been indicted in Richmond , along with Davis , Lee , and others , for waging war against the United States . The indictment was soon quashed . Davis visited London in 1868 , free on bail , and Benjamin advised him not to take legal action against the author of a book that had angered Davis , as it would only give the book publicity . Benjamin corresponded with Davis , and met with him on the former rebel president 's visits to Europe during Benjamin 's lifetime , though the two were never as close as they had been during the war .
Benjamin was created a " Palatine silk " , entitled to the precedence of a Queen 's Counsel within Lancashire , in July 1869 . There was a large creation of Queen 's Counsel in early 1872 , but Benjamin was not included ; it was stated in his Times obituary that he had put his name forward . Later that year , he argued the case of Potter v Rankin before the House of Lords and so impressed Lord Hatherley that a patent of precedence was soon made out , giving Benjamin the privileges of a Queen 's Counsel . As he became prominent as a barrister , he discontinued practice before juries ( at which he was less successful ) in favor of trials or appeals before judges . In his last years in practice , he demanded an additional fee of 100 guineas ( £ 105 ) to appear in any court besides the House of Lords and the Privy Council . In 1875 , he was made a bencher of Lincoln 's Inn .
In 1881 , Benjamin represented Arthur Orton , the Tichborne claimant , before the House of Lords . Orton , a butcher from Wagga Wagga , New South Wales , had claimed to be Sir Roger Tichborne , a baronet who had vanished some years previously , and Orton had perjured himself in the course of defending his claim . Benjamin sought to overturn the sentence of 14 years passed on Orton , but was not successful .
In his final years , Benjamin suffered from health issues . In 1880 , he was badly injured in a fall from a tram in Paris . He also developed diabetes . He suffered a heart attack in Paris at the end of 1882 , and his doctor ordered him to retire . His health improved enough to allow him to travel to London in June 1883 for a dinner in his honor attended by the English bench and bar . He returned to Paris and suffered a relapse of his heart trouble in early 1884 . Natalie Benjamin had the last rites of the Catholic Church administered to her Jewish husband before his death in Paris on May 6 , 1884 , and funeral services were held in a church prior to Judah Benjamin 's interment at Père Lachaise Cemetery in the St. Martin family crypt . His grave did not bear his name until 1938 , when a plaque was placed by the Paris chapter of the United Daughters of the Confederacy .
= = Appraisal = =
Benjamin was the first U.S. senator to profess the Jewish faith . In 1845 , David Yulee , born David Levy , had been sworn in for Florida , but he had renounced Judaism and eventually formally converted to Christianity . As an adult , Benjamin was a <unk> Jew , who was not a member of a synagogue and took no part in communal affairs . He rarely spoke of his religion publicly , but was not ashamed of it . Some of the stories told of Benjamin that touch on his faith come from Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise , who related that Benjamin delivered an address in a San Francisco synagogue on Yom Kippur in 1860 , though whether this occurred is open to question as Wise was not there and it was not reported in the city 's Jewish newspaper . One quote from Senate debate that remains " part of the Benjamin legend " , according to Evans , followed an allusion to Moses as a freer of slaves by a Northern senator , hinting that Benjamin was an " Israelite in Egyptian clothing " . Benjamin is supposed to have replied , " It is true that I am a Jew , and when my ancestors were receiving their Ten Commandments from the immediate hand of deity , amidst the <unk> and <unk> of Mount Sinai , the ancestors of my opponent were herding swine in the forests of Great Britain . "
Edgar M. Kahn , in his journal article on the 1860 California sojourn , wrote , " Benjamin 's life is an example of a man 's determination to overcome almost insurmountable barriers by industry , perseverance , and intelligent use of a remarkable brain . " This brilliance was recognized by contemporaries ; Salomon de Rothschild , in 1861 , deemed Benjamin " the greatest mind " in North America . Nevertheless , according to Meade , " he was given to quixotic enthusiasms and was sometimes too cocksure of his knowledge . " Ginsburg said of Benjamin , " he rose to the top of the legal profession twice in one lifetime , on two continents , beginning his first ascent as a raw youth and his second as a fugitive minister of a vanquished power . " Davis , after Benjamin 's death , deemed him the most able member of his Cabinet , and said that the lawyer 's postwar career had fully vindicated his confidence in him .
According to Brook , " in every age , a heroic sage struggles to rescue Benjamin from obscurity — and invariably fails . " Benjamin left no memoir and destroyed his personal papers , by which " the task of future researchers and historians was made exceedingly difficult and laborious " . After his death , Benjamin was rarely written about , in contrast to Davis and other Confederate leaders . Part of this was due to Benjamin depriving his potential biographers of source material , but even Davis , in his two @-@ volume war memoir , mentions him only twice . Evans suggests that as Davis wrote the books in part to defend and memorialize his place in history , it would not have been characteristic of him to give much credit to Benjamin . Davis , in the midst of postwar business struggles , may have resented Benjamin 's success as a barrister , or may have feared that allegations of involvement in Lincoln 's assassination would again be made against the two men . Brook concurs that Benjamin 's postwar success , that began as Davis lay in prison and other Confederates struggled for survival , may have soured Southerners towards the former secretary , but that anti @-@ Semitism was also likely a factor . " For the guardians of Confederate memory after Reconstruction , Benjamin became a kind of pet Jew , generally ignored , but then trotted out at opportune moments to defend the segregated South against charges of bigotry . "
Those writing on Jewish history were reluctant to glorify a slaveowner , and reacted to Benjamin 's story with " embarrassed dismay " . This was especially so in the two generations following 1865 , when the question of the civil war remained an active issue in American politics . It was not until the 1930s that Benjamin began to be mentioned as a significant figure in the history of the United States , and in the chronicle of the Jews there . Nevertheless , Tom Mountain , in his 2009 article on Benjamin , points out that Benjamin was respected in the South as a leader of the rebel cause for a century after the Civil War , and that Southern schoolchildren who could not name the current Secretary of State in Washington knew about Benjamin . Reform Rabbi Daniel Polish noted in 1988 that Benjamin " represent [ ed ] a significant dilemma [ in ] my years growing up as a Jew both proud of his people and with an intense commitment to the ideals of liberalism and human solidarity that I found embodied in the civil rights movement . "
Berman recounts a story that during the Civil War , Benjamin was called to the Torah at Beth <unk> synagogue in Richmond . However , there is no proof of this , nor does Benjamin 's name appear in any surviving record of the Jews of that city . " But whether or not Benjamin practiced Judaism overtly or contributed to Jewish causes , to the Jews of the South , he was a symbol of a <unk> who was a man among men " . According to Evans , " Benjamin survives , as he willed it : a shadowy figure in Civil War history " . Kahn noted that Benjamin " is epitomized as a foremost orator , lawyer , and statesman , without a peer at the bars of two of the world 's greatest nations " . Meade questioned whether Benjamin 's character can ever be fully understood :
We can easily prove that Benjamin was the only genius in the Confederate cabinet . We can demonstrate that his career , with its American and English phases , was more glamorous than that of any other prominent Confederate . But we are still confronted by one perplexing problem : Judah P. Benjamin was an enigmatic figure — the most incomprehensible of all the Confederate leaders . Lee , Jackson , even Jefferson Davis , are crystal clear in comparison with the Jewish lawyer and statesman . The acrimonious debate about his character began before the Civil War and has not ceased to this day .
= Gotta Be You ( One Direction song ) =
" Gotta Be You " is a song by English @-@ Irish boy band One Direction from their debut studio album , Up All Night ( 2011 ) . Written by August Rigo and the song 's producer , Steve Mac , it was released in the United Kingdom by Syco Music in November 2011 , as the album 's second single . The track is a mid @-@ tempo pop rock ballad incorporating an orchestral arrangement . The lyrical content is characterised by love sentiments .
The single peaked at number three in the United Kingdom , marking the group 's second top ten appearance there . Upon the United States release of Up All Night , " Gotta Be You " peaked at number 24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart . Directed by John Urbano , the accompanying music video depicts the group spending time on the banks of Lake Placid , New York . One Direction performed the ballad on televised programmes and during their Up All Night Tour ( 2011 – 12 ) .
= = Background and release = =
After being formed and finishing third in the seventh series of The X Factor in 2010 , One Direction were signed to Syco Music . The number was written by August Rigo and Steve Mac , and was produced by Mac . One Direction premiered the single on BBC Radio 1 on 19 October 2011 , with confirmation that it would serve as the second cut from Up All Night , following their debut single , " What Makes You Beautiful " , which topped the UK Singles Chart in September of that year . Member Zayn Malik , in an October interview with Digital Spy , characterised " Gotta Be You " as " a bit more emotive " than their debut single . It was released by Syco Music via digital download in Ireland and United Kingdom on 11 November 2011 and 13 November , respectively . In both countries , the digital download contains the principal recording , its B @-@ side , " Another World " , and two remixes of the song itself .
= = Composition and lyrics = =
" Gotta Be You " is a mid @-@ tempo pop rock ballad . According to the digital sheet music published at Musicnotes.com by Sony / ATV Music Publishing , One Direction 's vocal range in the song span from the note of Eb4 to <unk> . Written in the key of Ab major , the song is set in common time at a moderate tempo of 85 beats per minute . Set in an orchestral arrangement , its instrumentation includes a guitar , piano lines , and abundant strings . The chorus of the song opens with falsettos that are followed by vocal harmonies . The lyrical content is characterised by love notions and prominently revolves around its main declaration , " It 's gotta be you , only you " .
= = Critical reception = =
Both USA Today writer Brian Mansfield , who appreciated the lyrical content , and PopMatters contributor Zachary Houle , who favoured the instrumentation , described " Gotta Be You " as one of Up All Night 's highlights . Billboard reviewer Jason Lipshutz commended the vocal elements at play in its refrain and the track 's " smooth " lyricism . Robert Copsey for Digital Spy opined that the single 's memorable refrain is its strongest attribute and rated it four out of five stars . Matthew Horton of Virgin Media classified the song as one of the record 's " superior tracks " , and credited the ballad with keeping the album 's " pecker up " . Cosmopolitan 's Sarah Kwong lauded the lyrics and instrumentation of " Gotta Be You " and noted its appeal to a more mature audience in comparison to their debut single " What Makes You Beautiful " . Writing for Allmusic , Matthew Chisling , however , described the ballad as " a bit tepid . "
= = Commercial performance = =
" Gotta Be You " debuted and peaked at number three on the Irish Singles Chart in the week ending 17 November 2011 , marking the group 's second top five appearance in Ireland . In the United Kingdom , the piece sold substantially less than their first single " What Makes You Beautiful " , selling 59 @,@ 461 copies in its first week . Despite the single reaching number one on the mid @-@ week chart update , it entered the UK Singles Chart dated 20 November 2011 at number three behind the seventh week sales of Rihanna 's " We Found Love " and the release of " Good Feeling " by Flo Rida . The song marks their second top ten hit and was One Direction 's third best @-@ selling track in the UK by August 2012 . Upon the release of Up All Night in the United States , " Gotta Be You " did not enter the US Billboard Hot 100 , but peaked at number 24 on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart in the week of 28 April 2012 .
= = Music video = =
The single 's accompanying music video was directed by John Urbano , who had previously directed the band 's music video for " What Makes You Beautiful " . While predominantly filmed in Lake Placid , New York , in October 2011 , the clip 's opening sequences were shot at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh . In October , the group told Digital Spy that they feared a crocodile attack when shooting the video . They also told Capital FM correspondent Kevin Hughes that the clip would be a significant transition from their previous music video ; Malik described it as poignant and Louis Tomlinson reflected , " The first one was all about having a very fun song , but this song is a bit different . "
The music video premiered on 8 November 2011 on YouTube , and predominantly depicts the group spending time on the banks of Lake Placid . As of February 2016 , the music video has garnered more than 180 million Vevo views . In the music video , the five @-@ some end up meeting with girls in a camping spot in a forest . As the music ends , the group watch fireworks as Malik walks towards his significant other and kisses her . The clip attracted positive commentary from fans of the group .
= = Live performances = =
One Direction performed the single for the first time on The X Factor UK on 13 November 2012 , to open the BBC 's Children in Need 2011 telethon on 19 November 2012 , and at Capital FM 's Jingle Bell Ball on 4 December 2011 , at the The O2 Arena . One Direction also performed the track during their first headlining concert tour , the Up All Night Tour . " Gotta Be You " was performed as the sixth song on the set list , in the second segment of the show 's synopsis .
= = Chart performance = =
= = Release history = =
= Ian McKellen =
Sir Ian Murray McKellen , CH , CBE ( born 25 May 1939 ) is an English actor . He is the recipient of six Laurence Olivier Awards , a Tony Award , a Golden Globe Award , a Screen Actors Guild Award , a <unk> Award , two Saturn Awards , four Drama Desk Awards and two Critics ' Choice Awards . He has also received two Academy Award nominations , four BAFTA nominations and five Emmy Award nominations .
McKellen 's work spans genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction . The BBC states his " performances have guaranteed him a place in the canon of English stage and film actors " . His most well known film roles include Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit trilogies and Magneto in the X @-@ Men films .
McKellen was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 1979 , was knighted by Elizabeth II in 1991 for services to the performing arts , and made a Companion of Honour for services to drama and to equality in the Queen 's 2008 New Year Honours . He has been openly gay since 1988 , and continues to be a champion for LGBT social movements worldwide . He was made a Freeman of the City of London in October 2014 .