Description
STRONG ANTI-SLAVERY ADVOCATE AND NAMESAKE OF THE SHERMAN ANTITRUST ACT OF 1890
John Sherman 91823-1900) Signed Slip, "Very sincerely yours, John Sherman", 4.25 x 2, the signature was removed from a letter he wrote to the "Hon. Benj. Patton". Sherman was a politician from the U.S. state of Ohio during the American Civil War and into the late nineteenth century. A member of the Republican Party, he served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. He also served as Secretary of the Treasury (under President Rutherford B. Hayes) and Secretary of State (under President William McKinley). With nearly 32 years in the Senate, John Sherman is perhaps best remembered for authoring the Sherman Antitrust Act (1890), the first federal law targeting monopolies and anti-competitive behavior.
Sherman voted for the Confiscation Act of 1861, which allowed the government to confiscate any property being used to support the Confederate war effort (including slaves) and for the act abolishing slavery in the District of Columbia. He also voted for the Confiscation Act of 1862, which clarified that slaves "confiscated" under the 1861 Act were freed. In 1864, Sherman voted for the Thirteenth Amendment to the U. S. Constitution, abolishing slavery. After some effort, it passed Congress and was ratified by the states the next year. In 1866 President Andrew Johnson vetoed the proposed Civil Rights Act of 1866, which had passed Congress with overwhelming numbers. Sherman joined in re-passing the bill over Johnson's veto. That same year, Sherman voted for the Fourteenth Amendment, which guaranteed equal protection of the laws to the freedmen. It became law in 1868. The signature is in fine condition, with minor age toning and one fold line.
$125 #12188
