James Brooks (politician)

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James Brooks
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
March 4, 1849 – March 4, 1853
Preceded byHorace Greeley
Succeeded byJohn Wheeler
Constituency6th district
In office
March 4, 1863 – April 7, 1866
Preceded byIsaac C. Delaplaine
Succeeded byWilliam E. Dodge
Constituency8th district
In office
March 4, 1867 – April 30, 1873
Preceded byWilliam E. Dodge
Succeeded bySamuel S. Cox
Constituency8th district (1867–1873)
6th district (1873)
Personal details
Born(1807-11-10)November 10, 1807
Portland, Maine, U.S.
DiedApril 30, 1873(1873-04-30) (aged 65)
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Resting placeGreen-Wood Cemetery
Political partyWhig (before 1856)
Constitutional Union (1860)
Democratic (1860–1873)
EducationColby College (BA)

James Brooks (November 10, 1807 – April 30, 1873) was an American educator, lawyer, and politician who represented

Credit Mobilier scandal
.

Personal and education

He was born on November 10, 1807, in or near

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

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
.

Tenure in Congress

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
.

Censure

Brooks was

Crédit Mobilier of America scandal
.

Death

Brooks died in Washington, D.C., April 30, 1873. He was interred at

Brooklyn, New York
.

See also

References

Citations

  1. OCLC 7588473
    .
  2. ^ Neal, John (1869). Wandering Recollections of a Somewhat Busy Life. Boston, Massachusetts: Roberts Brothers. pp. 341–342.

Sources

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress

External links

U.S. 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
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 8th congressional district

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

1873 		Succeeded by
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