Biography:

John Sherman was born on May 10, 1823 in Ohio and was the brother of William Tecumseh Sherman.  He studied law and was admitted to the bar in 1844.  He represented Ohio in the US House of Representatives from 1855 to 1861.  Sherman became a US Senator in 1861 and served until 1877.  As Senator, he supported the passage of the National Bank Act and the Legal Tender Act which helped finance the war effort.  He also helped draft the Reconstruction Act of 1867, supported the Fifteenth Amendment, and voted to impeach Andrew Johnson.  In 1877, Sherman left the Senate to serve as Secretary of the Treasury during the Hayes’ administration.  He left Hayes’ cabinet in 1881 and returned to the United States Senate where he remained until 1897.  As Senator, he authored the Sherman Anti-Trust Act which limited the power of monopolies.   Although he was an influential and well respected politician, Sherman lost his bid to become the Republican presidential nominee three times (1880, 1884, and 1888).  In 1897, President McKinley appointed him Secretary of State, but, due to failing health, he resigned after serving only one year.  Sherman died on October 22, 1900.