CIVIL WAR CONGRESSMAN NY EDITOR CREDIT MOBILIER CRIMINAL BRIBE FREE FRANK SIGNED

Description

Here’s a Civil War Congressional Free Frank Cover Addressed and Signed by
JAMES BROOKS
(1810 - 1873)
CIVIL WAR U.S. CONGRESSMAN FROM NEW YORK,
NEW YORK NEWSPAPER EDITOR & PUBLISHER – FOUNDER OF THE “
NEW YORK DAILY EXPRESS
”
-&-
CENSURED BY THE US HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FOR BRIBERY IN THE "
CREDIT MOBILIER SCANDAL."
Brooks is interred in Brooklyn, NY’s Historic
Green-Wood Cemetery
.
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HERE'S A CONGRESSIONAL FREE FRANK COVER SIGNED and ADDRESSED IN HIS HAND.
THE COVER BEARS A CROWN “
FREE
” CDS POSTMARK FROM NEW YORK and A
CAMEO
CORNER CARD ON THE BACKFLAP FROM HIS NEWSPAPER COMPANY THE
“EXPRESS NEWSPAPER – NEW YORK OFFICE COR: OF WALL & NASSAU S
TS
.”
–BEAUTIFULLY SIGNED BY BROOKS:
“Free ~James Brooks”
The document cover measures 5½” x 3¼” and is in very fine condition.
A WONDERFUL RELIC OF CIVIL WAR NEW YORK POLITICAL & FEDERAL CRIMINAL HISTORY.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE HONORABLE
JAMES BROOKS
James Brooks
(November 10, 1810 – April 30, 1873) was a
U.S. Representative
from
New York
during the latter half of the
American Civil War
.
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
(now
Colby College
) in 1831.
While studying law, Brooks also worked as an
editor
for the
Portland Advertiser
. 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
(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.
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
.
The
Crédit Mobilier scandal
of 1872 involved the
Union Pacific Railroad
and the Crédit Mobilier of America construction company in the building of the eastern portion of the
First Transcontinental Railroad
.
The scandal's origins dated back to the
Abraham Lincoln
presidency, when the Union Pacific Railroad was chartered in 1864 by the federal government and the associated Crédit Mobilier was established. In 1868 Congressman
Oakes Ames
had distributed Crédit Mobilier
shares of stock
to other congressmen, in addition to making cash bribes, during the
Andrew Johnson
presidency. The story was broken by the New York newspaper,
The Sun
, during the 1872 presidential campaign, when
Ulysses S. Grant
was running for re-election.
Brooks died in
Washington, D.C.
, April 30, 1873. He was interred at
Green-Wood Cemetery
, in
Brooklyn, New York
.
State Senator
Erastus Brooks
(1815–1886) was his brother.
I am a proud member of the Universal Autograph Collectors Club (UACC), The Ephemera Society of America, the Manuscript Society and the American Political Items Collectors (APIC) (member name: John Lissandrello). I subscribe to each organizations' code of ethics and authenticity is guaranteed. ~Providing quality service and historical memorabilia online for over twenty years.~
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