John Sherman

Born in Lancaster, Ohio, in 1823, John Sherman trained as a lawyer before entering politics. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, then spent many years in the Senate, where he became known as a leading Republican voice on finance and public policy. He was also the brother of Civil War general William Tecumseh Sherman.

Sherman played a major role in debates over banking, currency, and government credit during and after the Civil War era. He later served as secretary of the treasury under Rutherford B. Hayes and as secretary of state under William McKinley. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 is closely associated with his name and remains one of the best-known laws of the period.

He died in 1900, after a public career that lasted for decades and touched many of the biggest political and economic questions of his time. For listeners interested in American history, he stands out as a steady, influential lawmaker whose work helped define the Gilded Age and beyond.