Clifford Cleveland Brooks, also known as C. C. Brooks (September 19, 1886 – October 16, 1944), was a

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

native who served as a Democrat from 1924 to 1932 in the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

. Brooks represented the

delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta"), the fourth letter in the Latin alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * Delta Air Lines, a major US carrier ...

parishes: Tensas, Madison, East Carroll, and Concordia, a rich farming region along the

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in eastern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

ranging from Vidalia to Tallulah to Lake Providence. At the time, two state senators served from the four-parish district.

Background

Brooks was born in Lexington in Oglethrope County in northeastern Georgia, to George Washington Brooks and the former Ida Stokes Briscoe. Brooks was given his middle name to honor

U.S. President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

Grover Cleveland Stephen Grover Cleveland (March 18, 1837June 24, 1908) was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States, serving from 1885 to 1889 and from 1893 to 1897. He was the first U.S. president to serve nonconsecutive terms and the first Hist ...

. Brooks graduated in 1908 from the

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, where he was active in athletic and fraternal activities. He had planned to study medicine but instead moved west for health reasons and sold real estate in Pauls Valley in Garvin County in southern

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. Thereafter, he was a cotton broker in

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the List of municipalities in Louisiana, third-most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge. The bulk of Shreveport is in Caddo Parish, Lo ...

in far northwestern Louisiana. Henry E. Chambers, ''History of Louisiana'', Vol. 2 (

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and

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: The American Historical Society, Inc., 1925, p. 71)

Political career

In 1918, Brooks came to Tensas Parish, where two years later, he purchased the Botany Bay Plantation on Lake Bruin near the parish seat of government of St. Joseph. In the Senate, he was assigned to the Agriculture, Land, and Levees committees. Brooks was also the chairman of the Senate Public Parks and Public Buildings Committee He served alongside Norris C. Williamson of East Carroll Parish, an unwavering

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

and an unyielding critic of

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Huey Pierce Long, Jr. Williamson retired to private life in 1932, rather than face likely defeat at the hands of the Longites, and his seat passed to Andrew L. Sevier of Tallulah. Brooks was unseated in his 1932 bid for a third Senate term by the banker Daniel B. Fleming of Ferriday in Concordia Parish. Himself generally anti-Long in the preceding term, Brooks equivocated regarding Longism and disappointed some of his original supporters who felt that he had not stood by his principles. Josiah Scott, editor of the ''Tensas Gazette'', wrote that Brooks had "a way of 'standing in' with both sides .... keeping posted on all that goes on in the camp of his friends and in the camp of his enemies alike." Scott noted that Brooks had found ways to get policies and programs supported in the delta, such as bridge work, approved despite the general hostility of the Long administration. In December 1931, Brooks appeared at a Long rally in Lake Providence in East Carroll Parish on behalf of Long's chosen successor as governor, O. K. Allen. Brooks endorsed Allen for governor and promised if retained in the Senate to support the Long-Allen agenda over the next four years. Brooks, however, was caught between pro-Long sentiment in the lower delta which coalesced behind Fleming and the

planter candidate, Andrew Sevier, in the upper delta. Two seats were at stake; Fleming and Sevier prevailed, with Brooks cast aside for reelection. Emerging pro-Long voters in Brooks' own Tensas Parish even turned to Fleming.''Once Proud Princes'', pp. 207-209

Personal life

Brooks was affiliated with the Knights of Pythias. In 1915, he married the former Linda Mae Sibley, a native of Bossier Parish, who was residing with her parents in Shreveport. Linda took an active role in civic matters and founded the first Girl Scout troop in St. Joseph. Four years after Brooks' death, Linda married Dr. George Watts Dubuisson, who died in 1952. She continued to operate Botany Bay Plantation after the deaths of both husbands. She died at the since defunct St. Charles Legion Memorial Hospital in Newellton.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Clifford Cleveland 1886 births 1944 deaths Democratic Party Louisiana state senators People from Lexington, Georgia People from Pauls Valley, Oklahoma Politicians from Shreveport, Louisiana People from St. Joseph, Louisiana American planters American businesspeople in real estate 20th-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature

Background

Political career

Personal life

See also

References