James S. Sherman | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Sherman in 1909 | |
| 27th Vice President of the United States | |
| In office March 4, 1909 – October 30, 1912 | |
| President | William Howard Taft |
| Preceded by | Charles W. Fairbanks |
| Succeeded by | Thomas R. Marshall |
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives fromNew York | |
| In office March 4, 1893 – March 3, 1909 | |
| Preceded by | James J. Belden |
| Succeeded by | Charles S. Millington |
| Constituency | 25th district (1893–1903) 27th district (1903–09) |
| In office March 4, 1887 – March 3, 1891 | |
| Preceded by | John T. Spriggs |
| Succeeded by | Henry Wilbur Bentley |
| Constituency | 23rd district |
| 46thMayor of Utica | |
| In office March 1884 – March 1885 | |
| Preceded by | Charles Doolittle |
| Succeeded by | Thomas E. Kinney |
| Personal details | |
| Born | James Schoolcraft Sherman (1855-10-24)October 24, 1855 Utica, New York, U.S. |
| Died | October 30, 1912(1912-10-30) (aged 57) Utica, New York, U.S. |
| Resting place | Forest Hill Cemetery |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3 |
| Parent |
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| Education | Hamilton College (BA) |
| Occupation |
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| Signature |  |
| Nickname | Sunny Jim |
James Schoolcraft Sherman (October 24, 1855 – October 30, 1912) was the 27thvice president of the United States, serving from 1909 until his death in 1912, under PresidentWilliam Howard Taft. A member of theRepublican Party, Sherman was previously aUnited States representative from New York from 1887 to 1891 and 1893 to 1909. He was a member of the interrelated Baldwin, Hoar, and Sherman families, prominent lawyers and politicians of New England and New York.
Although not a high-powered administrator, he made a natural congressional committee chairman, and his genial personality eased the workings of the House, so that he was known as 'Sunny Jim'. He was the first vice president to fly in anairplane (1911),[1] and also the first to throw out theceremonial first pitch at abaseball game. Sherman was the seventh and most recent vice president to have died in office.
Sherman was born inUtica, New York, the son ofRichard Updike Sherman and Mary Frances Sherman. According to Facts on File, "Sherman was of the ninth generation of descendants from Henry Sherman, a line also connected toRoger Sherman, signer of theDeclaration of Independence, andWilliam Tecumseh Sherman, the Union general during the Civil War".[2] He was educated atWhitestown Seminary, then attendedHamilton College, from which he received hisBachelor of Arts degree in 1878.[3][a] At Hamilton, he was noted for his skills in oratory and debate.
After graduation, he remained at Hamilton for a year to study law, then continuedhis studies at the Utica office of Beardsley, Cookingham and Burdick, which included his brother in law Henry J. Cookingham as a partner. He wasadmitted to the bar in 1880, and practiced with Cookingham in the firm of Cookingham & Martin. Sherman was also president of the Utica Trust & Deposit Co. and the New Hartford Canning Company. Sherman became active in politics as aRepublican and was elected chairman of the party inOneida County.[4] He becamemayor of Utica at age twenty-nine.[5] In 1881, he marriedCarrie Babcock of East Orange, New Jersey, and they had three sons; Sherrill B. Sherman, Richard Updyke Sherman, and Thomas Moore Sherman.
In 1886, Sherman was elected U.S. Representative from New York's 23rd congressional district as a Republican, and he served 20 years in the House (four years, followed by a two-year break and 16 more years).[6]At a time when the Republican Party was divided over protective tariffs, Sherman sided withWilliam McKinley and the conservative branch, defending the gold standard against the potentially inflationary 'free silver'.
During his House career, Sherman served as chairman of theCommittee on Indian Affairs from the54th through the60th Congresses (1895 to 1909).
As Sherman had never held a party leadership post or been a chairman of a major committee such asWays and Means orAppropriations, he was considered sufficiently neutral to frequently be appointed chairman of theCommittee of the Whole— a crucial device for speeding up the passage of bills by suspending certain rules at the discretion of the chairman.Henry Cabot Lodge recognized this job as a major test of integrity and judgment, and declared that Sherman was supremely fitted for it.[7] Through Sherman's efforts in 1900, theSherman Indian High School inRiverside, California was built and named after him.[8]
At the suggestion of SenatorCharles Curtis at the 1908Republican National Convention, Sherman was nominated as the Republican candidate for vice president on the ticket withWilliam Howard Taft.[9] Although not an obvious front-runner, he balanced the progressive Taft's profile, by being both an Easterner and a conservative (it was said that the two wings of the GOP 'flapped together'), and the New York delegates pressed hard for his nomination. The Republicans won by a comfortable margin. At first, Sherman and Taft found themselves at odds over both tariff policy and the role of the Vice President. But as Taft became embattled with parts of the progressive faction of the Republican party, the two of them worked together more harmoniously – a relationship eased further by theFirst Lady's enjoyment of the company of Sherman and his wife. The President declared that Sherman accomplished much on Capitol Hill by his "charm of speech and manner, and his spirit of conciliation and compromise", backed by a "stubborn adherence" to his principles.
During the beginning of his term, Taft, who had been associated with progressives, had to deal with SpeakerJoseph Gurney Cannon who was a part of the conservatives. Sherman, who had more experience in Congress, was expected to be a liaison for Taft with Cannon. “I am going to rely on you, Jim, to take care of Cannon for me. Whatever I have to do there will be done through you,” proposed Taft. Sherman replied, “Not through me. You will have to act on your own account. I am to be Vice President, and acting as a messenger boy is not part of the duties as Vice President.”
From 1910, Taft had experienced several disagreements with ex-PresidentTheodore Roosevelt, who formed his ownBull Moose party. This made re-election for the Republicans almost impossible, but Taft and Sherman campaigned on the same ticket in the1912 contest, with New Yorkers once again supporting Sherman's nomination – the first time that a sitting vice president had been re-nominated sinceJohn C. Calhoun in1828.
Diagnosed withBright's disease in 1904, Sherman's health was failing by the time of the 1912 campaign. Less than a week before the election, he died at home in Utica on October 30, six days after his 57th birthday, and President Taft was left with no running mate.Nicholas Murray Butler was designated to receive the electoral votes that Sherman would have received. Taft and Butler came in third place in the election, carrying only eight electoral votes fromUtah andVermont. Democratic candidateWoodrow Wilson and his running mateThomas R. Marshall won the election whileProgressive candidateTheodore Roosevelt and his running mateHiram Johnson came in second place. The vice presidency remained vacant until Marshall's inauguration on March 4, 1913.
Sherman was buried atForest Hill Cemetery in Utica.[10]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member fromNew York's 23rd congressional district 1887–1891 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member fromNew York's 25th congressional district 1893–1903 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Member fromNew York's 27th congressional district 1903–1909 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Republicannominee for Vice President of the United States 1908,1912(Deceased) | Succeeded by |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Charles W. Fairbanks | Vice President of the United States 1909–1912 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
