John Sherman

Who was John Sherman?

John Sherman 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 Iowa banker Hoyt Sherman.

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.