James Brooks (politician)

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

James Brooks
File:Hon. James Brooks (cropped).jpg
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1867 – April 30, 1873
Preceded by William E. Dodge
Succeeded by Samuel S. Cox
Constituency 8th district (1867–1873)
6th district (1873)
In office
March 4, 1863 – April 7, 1866
Preceded by Isaac C. Delaplaine
Succeeded by William E. Dodge
Constituency 8th district
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 3, 1853
Preceded by Horace Greeley
Succeeded by John Wheeler
Constituency 6th district
Personal details
Born (1807-11-10)November 10, 1807
Portland, Maine, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting place Green-Wood Cemetery
Political party Whig (Before 1856)
Democratic (1856–1873)
Education Colby College (BA)

James Brooks (10 November 1807 – 30 April 1873) was a U.S. representative from New York during the latter half of the American Civil War.

Personal and education

He was born on November 10, 1807, in or near Portland, Maine.[1] State Senator Erastus Brooks (1815–1886) was his brother. As a student, he attended public schools and then the academy at Monmouth, Maine. By the age of 16, he was teaching school, in Lewiston, Maine. He graduated from Waterville College (now Colby College) in 1831.

While reading law with John Neal,[2] Brooks also worked as an editor for the Portland Advertiser.

Political career

After finishing law studies, he worked as the Advertiser's Washington correspondent. He served as a member of the Maine House of Representatives in 1835 and lost a Congressional election in 1836. After losing, he moved to New York City and founded the New York Daily Express, where he was editor-in-chief for the rest of his life. He was a member of the New York State Assembly (New York Co., 16th D.) in 1848.

He was elected, as a Whig, to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses (March 4, 1849 - March 3, 1853). He lost a race for re-election in 1852 and resumed his editorial pursuits.

In the 1860 U.S. presidential election, Brooks would support the Constitutional Union Party ticket of John Bell and Edward Everett, but by the outbreak of the American Civil War, he had come to align himself with Fernando Wood and his Mozart Hall faction of New York City's Tammany Hall. Throughout the conflict, Brooks would serve as one of Wood's chief lieutenants, arguing alongside Wood against the use of coercion or force to restore the Union, resulting in them both being recognized throughout the North as outspoken leaders in the anti-war Copperhead movement.

Brooks was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress (March 4, 1863 – March 3, 1865). He presented credentials as a Member-elect to the Thirty-ninth Congress, after a disputed election; he served from March 4, 1865, until April 7, 1866. He was succeeded by William E. Dodge, who had contested the election and won his case.

In 1866, Brooks was elected as a Democrat to the Fortieth Congress, and to the three succeeding Congresses. He was a Member of Congress until his death in 1873.

Brooks served as member of the New York State constitutional convention in 1867. That same year, he was appointed a government director of the Union Pacific Railroad.

Brooks was censured by the House of Representatives on February 27, 1873, for attempted bribery, in connection with the Crédit Mobilier of America scandal.

Death

Brooks died in Washington, D.C., April 30, 1873. He was interred at Green-Wood Cemetery, in Brooklyn, New York.

See also

References

Citations

  1. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Sources

 This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.

External links

United States House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 6th congressional district

1849–1853
Succeeded by
John Wheeler
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 8th congressional district

1863–1866
Succeeded by
William E. Dodge
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 8th congressional district

1867–1873
Succeeded by
John Lawson
Preceded by Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 6th congressional district

1873
Succeeded by
Samuel S. Cox