• Home
• Politicians
• John Sherman

John Sherman Politician

John Sherman (May 10, 1823 – October 22, 1900) was an American Republican representative and senator from Ohio during the Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. He also served as both Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of State and was the principal author of the Sherman Antitrust Act. Sherman ran for the Republican presidential nomination three times, coming closest in 1888, but never winning. His brothers included General William Tecumseh Sherman of Civil War fame, Charles Taylor Sherman, a federal judge in Ohio, and Hoyt Sherman, an Iowa banker.Born in Lancaster, Ohio, Sherman later moved to Mansfield, Ohio, where he began a law career before entering politics. Initially a Whig, Sherman was among those anti-slavery activists who formed what became the Republican Party. He served three terms in the House of Representatives. As a member of the House, Sherman traveled to Kansas to investigate the unrest between pro- and anti-slavery partisans there. He rose in party leadership and was nearly elected Speaker in 1859. Sherman was elevated to the Senate in 1861. As a senator, he was a leader in financial matters, helping to redesign the United States' monetary system to meet the needs of a nation torn apart by civil war. After the war, he worked to produce legislation that would restore the nation's credit abroad and produce a stable, gold-backed currency at home.Serving as Secretary of the Treasury in the administration of Rutherford B. Hayes, Sherman continued his efforts for financial stability and solvency, overseeing an end to wartime inflationary measures and a return to gold-backed money. He returned to the Senate after his term expired, serving there for a further sixteen years. During that time he continued his work on financial legislation, as well as writing and debating laws on immigration, business competition law, and the regulation of interstate commerce. In 1897, President William McKinley appointed Sherman Secretary of State. Failing health and declining faculties made him unable to handle the burdens of the job, and he retired in 1898 at the start of the Spanish–American War. Sherman died at his home in Washington, D.C. in 1900.

Personal facts

Birth date	May 10, 1823
Birth place	Lancaster Ohio
Religion	Methodism
Date of death	October 22, 1900
Place of death	Washington D.C.

• facebook
• tumblr
• linkedin
• twitter
• reddit
• google+