James Brooks (politician)
James Brooks 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, 1810, in Portland, Maine. 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 in 1831.
While studying law, Brooks also worked as an editor for the Portland Advertiser.Political career
After graduation, 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 in 1848.
He was elected, as a Whig, to the Thirty-first and Thirty-second Congresses. He lost a race for re-election in 1852 and resumed his editorial pursuits.
Brooks was elected as a Democrat to the Thirty-eighth Congress. 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.
State Senator Erastus Brooks was his brother.
