SHERMAN, JOHN

born May 10, 1823, Lancaster, Ohio, U.S.

died Oct. 22, 1900, Washington, D.C.

U.S. politician.

A brother of William T. Sherman , he served in the U.S. House of Representatives (1855–61). A fiscal expert, he helped establish the national banking system (1863) and supported legislation that returned the U.S. to the gold standard. He served as U.S. secretary of the treasury (1877–81). In the U.S. Senate (1861–77, 1881–97), he proposed the Sherman Antitrust Act and the Sherman Silver Purchase Act (1890). He later served briefly as secretary of state (1897–98), resigning the day Congress declared war against Spain.

John Sherman

By courtesy of the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.