John Sherman
was born in Lancaster, Ohio, on 10th May, 1823. The brother of William
Sherman, he left school to work as an engineer on canal projects.
He returned to his studies and eventually was admitted to the bar
in 1844. Sherman worked as a lawyer in Mansfield, Ohio and Cleveland,
Ohio.
A member of the Republican Party,
Sherman was elected to the House of Representatives (4th March, 1855
to 21st March, 1861) and served as chairman of the Ways and Means
Committee. In 1861 he was elected to the Senate as replacement for
Salmon Chase. He remained in Congress
for the next sixteen years until President Rutherhood
Hayes appointed him secretary of the treasury (1877-81).
Sherman returned to the Senate (1881-97) and was responsible for the
Sherman Anti-Trust Act in 1890. The legislation
attempted to curb the growth of monopolies. The act declared illegal
any business combination that sought to restrain trade or commerce.
Penalties for violation of the act included a $5,000 fine or/and a
year's imprisonment
President William McKinley appointed
him secretary of state in 1897 but he resigned the following year
because he opposed the administration's decision to go to war with
Spain. John Sherman died in Washington
on 22nd October, 1900.
(1)
John Sherman, letter to William Sherman
(January, 1861)
How can we avert a calamity at which humanity and civilization
shudder? I know no way but to cling to the government framed by our
fathers, to administer it in a spirit of kindness but, in all cases,
without partiality to enforce the laws. No state can release us from
the duty of obeying the laws. The ordinance or act of a state is no
defense for treason, nor does it lessen the moral guilt of that crime.
Let us cling to each other in the hope that our differences will pass
away, as they often have in times past. For the sake of peace, for
the love of civil liberty, for the honor of our name, our race, our
religion, let us preserve the union, loving it better as the clouds
grow darker.
(2) John Sherman, letter to William
Sherman (10th November, 1865)
I have seen Johnson several times. He seems kind and patient with
all the terrible responsibility. I think he feels what everyone must
have observed, that the people will not trust the party or men who,
during the war, sided with the Rebels. The Democratic Party is doomed
forever as a disloyal organization, and no promises, or pledges, or
platform they can make will redeem them from the odium they justly
gained.
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