Bridges, Roger Dean. "The Constitutional World of Senator John Sherman, 1861-1869." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1970.
SHERMAN, John
1823–1900
Biography
SHERMAN, John, a Representative and a Senator from Ohio; born in Lancaster, Fairfield County, Ohio, on May 10, 1823; attended the common schools and an academy in Ohio; left school to work as an engineer on canal projects; studied law; admitted to the bar in 1844 and began practice in Mansfield, Ohio; moved to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1853; elected as a Republican to the Thirty-fourth and to the three succeeding Congresses and served from March 4, 1855, to March 21, 1861, when he resigned; chairman, Committee on Ways and Means (Thirty-sixth Congress); elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1861 to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of Salmon P. Chase; reelected in 1866 and 1872 and served from March 21, 1861, until his resignation on March 8, 1877; chairman, Committee on Agriculture (1863-67), Committee on Finance (1863-65, 1867-77); appointed Secretary of the Treasury in the Cabinet of President Rutherford Hayes in March 1877, and served until March 1881; again elected as a Republican to the United States Senate in 1881 in the place of James A. Garfield, who had been elected President of the United States; reelected in 1886 and 1892 and served from March 4, 1881, until his resignation on March 4, 1897; Republican Conference chairman (1884-1885, 1891-1897); President pro tempore (1885-1887); chairman, Committee on the Library (Forty-seventh through Forty-ninth Congresses), Committee on Foreign Relations (Forty-ninth through Fifty-second Congresses, Fifty-fourth Congress); appointed Secretary of State in the Cabinet of President William McKinley and served from March 1897, until his resignation in April 1898; retired to private life; died in Washington, D.C., October 22, 1900; interment in Mansfield Cemetery, Mansfield, Richland County, Ohio.
View Record in the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress
[ Top ]External Research Collections
Cincinnati Historical Society
Cincinnati, OH
Papers:
7 letters (1871-1895); and 3 items (1869) in the Tyler Davidson collection.
Cornell University
Rare Books and Manuscript Collections
Ithaca, NY
Papers:
Correspondence in Camp family papers, 1817-1953; Justin S. Morrill papers, 1814-1937; and Andrew Dickson White papers, 1857-1867, available on 8 microfilm reels.
Hagley Museum and Library
Greenville, DE
Papers:
In Samuel Francis du Pont papers, 1812-1865.
Rutherford B. Hayes Library
Fremont, OH
Papers:
1846-1896. 31 clipping books, ledgers, correspondence, reprints of speeches and 81 feet of microfilm. Includes papers on permanent loan from the State Library of Ohio, photocopies, and microfilm of originals in the Library of Congress. Chiefly political correspondence. Topics include the silver question and post-war redemption of greenbacks.
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA
Papers:
In Salmon Portland Chase collection, 1824-1881.
Indiana Historical Society
Indianapolis, IN
Papers:
42 letters in the William Henry Smith papers; correspondence in Albert G. Porter collection, 1759-1942; W.R. Holloway papers, 1824-1899; and Lew Wallace papers, 1799-1923.
Library of Congress
Manuscript Division
Washington, DC
Papers:
1836-1900. 132 linear feet. 604 volumes of letters received (1836-1900); 8 volumes of letters sent (1874-1893); 3 scrapbooks (1897-1900); and other papers relating to his role in Ohio politics after 1850. Includes family and general correspondence from his service in Congress and the cabinet, and papers relating to Kansas in 1856, when he was a member of the House committee investigating conditions there. Finding aid. Also 2 microfilm reels of letters (1848-1893), originals in private custody.
Additional Papers:
Correspondence in Nathaniel Prentice Banks papers, 1829-1911; and Louis Theodore Michener papers, 1880-1027.
Mansfield-Richland County Public Library
Mansfield, OH
Papers:
1839-1921. 46 items. Includes correspondence relating to political issues, social affairs, and personal business and drafts of speeches on impeachment of President Johnson. Correspondents include James A. Garfield and William McKinley.
Massachusetts Historical Society
Boston, MA
Papers:
Ca. 10 items (1861-1897) in various collections.
New Jersey Historical Society
Newark, NJ
Papers:
Correspondence in Joseph P. Bradley papers, 1836-1937; and Marcus L. Ward papers, 1883-1912.
New-York Historical Society
New York, NY
Papers:
1863-1890. 15 items.
Ohio Historical Society
Columbus, OH
Papers:
1841-1892. .5 foot. Correspondence relating to personal and political affairs, especially the Civil War. Additional miscellaneous items and photographs in various collections.
Pierpont Morgan Library
New York, NY
Papers:
7 items (1860-1894); and 1 letter (January 14, 1889) to Miller A. Wright regarding the appointment of southerners to President Harrison's cabinet in the Gilder Lehrman collection. Finding aid.
State Historical Society of Iowa
Des Moines, IA
Papers:
1 box. Correspondence with William W. Belknap, Sherman R. Curtis, James W. Grimes, James Harlan, George W. Jones, John A. Kasson, and Samuel J. Kirkwood.
Syracuse University
George Arents Research Library
Syracuse, NY
Papers:
1852-1898. 64 letters. Concerning fiscal policy, political issues, appointments, and the Republican party.
University of Michigan
Bentley Historical Library
Ann Arbor, MI
Papers:
Correspondence in Andrew Dickson White papers, 1857-1867, on 8 microfilm reels; James M. Edmunds correspondence, 1861-1866; and McCreery family papers, 1818-1948.
University of Rochester
Rush Rhees Library
Rochester, NY
Papers:
19 letters by and 9 to Sherman (1852-1897) in various collections. Finding aid.
University of Virginia
Alderman Library
Charlottesville, VA
Papers:
Correspondence in various collections. Finding aid.
Virginia Historical Society
Richmond, VA
Papers:
Miscellaneous items. Finding aid.
Western Reserve Historical Society
Cleveland, OH
Papers:
Material documenting Sherman's 1880 campaign for the Republican presidential nomination in Warner M. Bateman papers. 24 boxes. Finding aid.
Yale University Libraries
Manuscripts and Archives
New Haven, CT
Papers:
In Carrington family papers, 1749-1929; William Smith Mason collection, 1800-1829; and S. Griswold Flagg collection, 1825-1938.
Research Libraries Information Network
In addition to the institutions listed above, items are also cataloged in collections at: Brown University, Providence, RI; New York Botanical Garden Library, Bronx, NY; and State University of New York, Buffalo, NY.
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Bibliography / Further Reading
___. "John Sherman and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson."Ohio History 82 (Summer-Autumn 1973): 176-91.
Burton, Theodore E. John Sherman. 1906. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1972.
Crenshaw, Ollinger. "The Speakership Contest of 1859-1860: John Sherman's Election a Cause of Disruption?" Mississippi Valley Historical Review 29 (December 1942): 323-38.
Gaither, Gerald, and John Muldowny, eds. "Hinton Rowan Helper, Racist and Reformer: A Letter to Senator John Sherman of Ohio." North Carolina Historical Review 49 (October 1972): 377-83.
Harn, George U. "John Sherman." Ohio Archaeological and Historical Quarterly 17 (July 1908): 309-36.
Kerr, Winfield Scott. John Sherman: His Life and Public Services. 2 vols. Boston: Sherman, French & Co., 1908.
Lewis, Ernest Gilmore. "Some Contributions of John Sherman to Public and Private Finance, 1855-1881." Ph.D. dissertation, University of Illinois, 1932.
Matthews, John Herbert. "John Sherman and American Foreign Relations, 1883-1898." Ph.D. dissertation, Emory University, 1976.
Nichols, Jeanette Paddock. "John Sherman: A Study in Inflation." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 21 (September 1934): 181-94.
___. "Rutherford B. Hayes and John Sherman." Ohio History 77 (Winter-Spring-Summer 1968): 125-38.
Patrick, John Joseph. "John Sherman: The Early Years, 1823-1865." Ph.D. dissertation, Kent State University, 1982.
Randall, James G. "John Sherman and Reconstruction." Mississippi Valley Historical Review 19 (December 1932): 382-93.
Sherman, John. Recollections of Forty Years in The House, Senate, and Cabinet: An Autobiography. 2 vols. 1895. Reprint. New York: Greenwood Press, 1968.
___. Selected Speeches and Reports on Finance and Taxation, from 1869 to 1878. New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1879.
Stern, Clarence Ames. Golden Republicanism: The Crusade for Hard Money. Ann Arbor: Privately printed, 1964.
Thorndike, Rachel Sherman, ed. The Sherman Letters: Correspondence Between General and Senator Sherman from 1837 to 1891. 1894. Reprint. New York: AMS Press, 1971.
Committee Assignments
- House Committee - Ways and Means - Chair